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egal battles that have torn apart the Golkar Party are entering the final stage, with the Supreme Court set to decide on two cases concerning the leadership of the country'€™s second-largest political party.

The North Jakarta District Court delivered a verdict on Friday in favor of Aburizal Bakrie, the chief of one of the party'€™s two rival camps, ruling that his leadership was legally valid.

'€œThe panel of judges believes that there is evidence [of action] against the law. Therefore, the Ancol national congress is deemed invalid,'€ presiding judge Lilik Mulyadi said, reading the verdict.

Aburizal has been fighting for party control with Agung Laksono, the party'€™s deputy chairman under Aburizal'€™s leadership, since a contentious succession bid last year.

Aburizal was accused of controlling a national congress in Bali with an '€œiron fist'€ to secure a second term as party chairman.

Agung subsequently led a splinter group that protested the congress and later held another congress in Ancol, Jakarta, that appointed him party chairman.

The party'€™s internal dispute tribunal later issued an ambiguous ruling on the case, in which two panel members supported Agung and another two abstained.

Different interpretations of the party tribunal'€™s ruling led to further conflict.

Agung won recognition from Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly, who issued a decree to confirm his leadership.

The Aburizal camp, which is convinced that the ministry incorrectly interpreted the party tribunal'€™s ruling, challenged the ministerial decree, but the State High Administrative Court (PTUN) ruled in favor of Agung and the government.

Aburizal then filed an appeal against the ruling at the Supreme Court.

The case at the North Jakarta District Court was brought by Aburizal, who is challenging the validity of the Ancol congress and Agung'€™s appointment as party chairman.

The Aburizal camp also argues that the party'€™s tribunal made no decision, hence, according to the Political Parties Law, it is the court'€™s authority to decide the case.

In Friday'€™s verdict, the North Jakarta court also ruled that Aburizal was the official party leader and ordered Agung and other defendants to pay Rp 100 billion (US$ 7.41 million) in non-material losses to Aburizal'€™s camp.

The Aburizal faction previously demanded the plaintiffs pay Rp 1 trillion to compensate losses incurred by the faction since the saga began.

Agung'€™s camp and the ministry said they would appeal to the Supreme Court.

The ministry'€™s administrative law director, Thena Sitepu, said that while the ministry had not received an official letter from the court regarding the verdict, it would likely file an appeal, reasoning that '€œthere'€™s no harm in filing an appeal'€.

Aburizal camp treasurer Bambang Soesatyo urged the Agung faction to concede defeat.

'€œWe'€™re hoping the Ancol camp will obey the law,'€ he said on Friday.

Agung camp deputy chairman Yorrys Raweyai said that his faction was not worried about the verdict as they were confident that they would win an appeal at the higher court.

'€œThis is just an early verdict, just like the verdict of the Jakarta State Administrative Court. I have met with Golkar Party legal department head Loren Siburian and he said that he had lodged an appeal,'€ Yorrys told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

According to some constitutional law experts, Aburizal'€™s leadership is official, regardless of any appeal.

Expert Irman Putra Sidin said that the ruling from the PTUN did not declare any official leadership, but only validated the law and human rights minister'€™s decree.

The North Jakarta court, on the other hand, has explicitly declared Aburizal'€™s leadership legally valid.

'€œTherefore, the legitimate leadership is the one recognized at the Bali congress,'€ Irman told the Post on Friday.