Juridical Analysis of the Role of Bankruptcy Curators in Settling Corporate Insolvency with Illiquid Assets in Indonesia

Abstract

This research examines the role and responsibility of curators in resolving bankruptcy cases involving illiquid assets in Indonesia, as well as the legal economic strategies that may be adopted to optimize the value of the bankruptcy estate for creditors. Illiquid assets, which are difficult to sell or highly vulnerable to depreciation, often hinder the efficiency of bankruptcy proceedings under Law No. 37 of 2004 on Bankruptcy and Suspension of Debt Payment Obligations (UU KPKPU). This study employs a normative juridical method with a statutory, conceptual, case, and comparative approach, relying on primary legislation, court decisions, and secondary legal literature. The findings show that, normatively, the UU KPKPU grants curators broad powers to administer and liquidate the estate, yet in practice these powers are constrained by rigid procedures, limited technical guidance, and regulatory gaps concerning illiquid assets. To address these limitations, the curator’s role needs to be interpreted progressively in line with Satjipto Rahardjo’s Progressive Law, positioning law as an instrument to achieve substantive justice and utility rather than mere formal compliance. Building on Richard A. Posner’s Economic Analysis of Law, the research identifies strategies such as negotiation, asset restructuring, asset pooling, investment cooperation, private sale, debt-to-equity swaps, and auction consortiums as tools to increase estate value, reduce transaction costs, and widen the distributive room for creditors, particularly concurrent creditors. The study concludes that integrating normative–dogmatic analysis with progressive law and economic analysis provides a more responsive and efficient framework for curators in handling illiquid assets within Indonesian bankruptcy law.