An Exoneration Clause in Standard Agreements: Problems in Consumer Protection

Abstract

Standard agreements have been applied to the current business world in Indonesia. Problem in this research is relating to the standard agreement contains an exoneration clause that may cause detrimental to consumers. The purpose of this study is to analyze the legal protection in Indonesia for consumers related to standard agreements. The method in this research is normative juridical and the use of the theory of legal protection by Philipus M. Hadjon and the theory of law as a tool of social engineering by Roscoe Pound. Based on the research results, Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection has provided repressive approaches, namely the protection given at the end and preventive namely the protection provided when a violation occurs. Legal protection has not been able to become a tool in social engineering, changing people’s behavior and creating a civilized society. Therefore, the recommendation in this study is that Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection should be amended by containing strict sanctions for business actors who apply standard agreements containing exoneration clauses in the hope that these sanctions can provide a deterrent effect and can change people’s behavior to obey the laws that have been regulated.