A startling turn<\/p>\n
A letter from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, dated
\nApril 5, 1995, and addressed to the Jayapura Court of Justice in
\nIrian Jaya has prompted various reactions and comments.<\/p>\n
In his letter, the Chief Justice stated that the guilty
\nparties in the case in question -- the Governor of the Province
\nof Irian Jaya, the Head of Provincial Office of Agricultural
\nEstates, the Head of the Forestry Service, the Head of the
\nprovincial Office of Animal Husbandry, and the Head of the
\nFishery Service -- are not public legal entities with properties
\nof their own.<\/p>\n
For that reason, the letter said, the Supreme Court's earlier
\nruling regarding their obligation to pay Rp 18.6 billion in
\ncompensation for land is non-executable. The letter effectively
\nterminates the efforts of Hanoch Hebe Ohee, who has since 1984
\ntried to push his case concerning a dispute over 62 hectares of
\nland belonging to the Ongge and Hanoch keret (sub-clans).<\/p>\n
The Chief Justice's letter, which annuls a final ruling made
\nby the Supreme Court, has provoked a number of reactions and
\ncomments. From the aspect of procedure, it is being questioned
\nwhether a final ruling, coming from that same institution, can be
\nso easily annulled. From the viewpoint of substance, or the
\ncommon sense of justice, the question is whether or not the land
\nin question did legitimately belong to the Ongge and Hanoch sub-
\nclans, and whether the government has the right to appropriate it
\nwithout further ado.<\/p>\n
Laws become effective not because they are proclaimed, but
\nbecause they are used in practice. It is through this practice
\nthat precedents and legal conduct are established. It is in this
\nmanner that the constitutional state and the practice of legal
\nprinciples are turned into reality.<\/p>\n
-- Kompas, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-startling-turn-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }