Basic preconditions for legal aid institutions<\/p>\n
Public debate on conflict of interest evolved as soon as
\nGolkar announced its plan to set up a legal aid institution early
\nthis month. Sociologist Kastorius Sinaga warns the nation's
\ndominant political organization against the trap of treating
\nlegal aid as a political commodity.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As was recently reported by the mass media,
\nGolkar, the ruling political organization, is expected to
\nestablish a new legal aid institution in the near future. In the
\ninterim both positive and negative views regarding the plan have
\narisen. Some observers look on this matter from an upbeat point
\nof view, reasoning that by establishing a new legal aid
\ninstitution Golkar is proving that it wants to reach down to the
\npoor and help them defend their legal rights without charging
\nanything in return.<\/p>\n
Aside from this positive viewpoint, however, many have put
\nforward some critical questions. Will Golkar -- which represents
\nthe core of the state's power and has a close relationship with
\nthe state bureaucracy -- really be able to provide legal aid for
\nthe powerless?<\/p>\n
Frequently, this majority political group experiences
\npressures from government officials or institutions due to the
\nrapid pace of economic development, a process which normally
\ntends to exacerbate the exploitation of the powerless majority in
\nsociety. Will Golkar -- which is in effect a true political party
\nbased on membership -- provide legal aid free of charge for those
\nlayers of society which otherwise could not afford it,
\nirrespective of their political affinity or views?<\/p>\n
The answer to these questions can only be assessed, in part,
\nby scrutinizing the world of legal aid services in Indonesia in
\nparticular and the basic preconditions required by this sector in
\ngeneral.<\/p>\n
Compared to the situation prevailing in other countries, the
\npractice of legal aid services does not have the benefit of a
\nlong tradition in Indonesia. Up to the mid-1970s there were only
\na few legal aid institutions in Indonesia. This was due to the
\nlack of political support on the macro level as well as the lack
\nof idealistic lawyers who were willing to share their
\nprofessional expertise with the poor.<\/p>\n
Despite the challenging circumstances caused by the
\ndeterioration of the legal system in Indonesia, exemplified
\nparticularly in the form of extra-judicial practices in various
\nspheres, most of the legal aid institutions existing at that time
\nwere founded by universities. Those institutions tended to
\nfunction more as vehicles to provide training opportunities for
\nlaw students. The most popular legal aid institution, which was
\nindependently formed, is the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation
\n(YLBHI).<\/p>\n
In 1978, following a presidential speech, the \"Eight Channels
\nof Distribution\" were announced by the government with the main
\ngoal of achieving a more just and more egalitarian society. For
\nthe first time the Indonesian government recognized the principle
\nof equal opportunities to obtaining legal justice for all. This
\npolicy has led to the founding of numerous legal aid institutions
\nin Indonesia, particularly by government-sponsored social and
\nmass organizations.<\/p>\n
It is probably justified to say that by establishing legal aid
\ninstitutions that were affiliated with existing social
\norganizations at the time the government actually wanted to
\nprovide an alternative legal aid scheme and simultaneously
\nstrengthen the counter-movement against YLBHI's activities.<\/p>\n
However, those government-sponsored legal aid institutions did
\nnot function as expected. Most of the lawyers who worked for
\nthose institutions also had their own law firms and did not have
\nsufficient time, or idealism, to devote themselves to legal aid
\nservices that were oriented towards helping the poor and
\npowerless.<\/p>\n
Apart from this, the poor people who seek justice through
\nlegal aid tend to refrain from consulting legal aid centers that
\nare so closely related to the government, for the simple reason
\nthat they regard their lawyers as representatives of the
\ngovernment and therefore the poor are less inclined to trust
\nthem. As a result, the independent YLBHI, which was founded and
\nrun by such widely known human rights fighters as Adnan Buyung
\nNasution and T. Mulya Lubis gradually gained the greatest
\npopularity among the powerless. Such a condition could be said to
\nhave been the unintended result of the heavy political
\nengineering efforts launched by the state.<\/p>\n
Surely we should welcome Golkar's increasing concern towards
\nthe poor majority in this country as indicated by its effort to
\nestablish a new legal aid center to fight for the legal rights of
\nthe powerless. However, to achieve that goal, some preconditions
\nshould be mentioned.<\/p>\n
First, legal conflicts, particularly between the state and
\nsociety in the context of development, reflect not merely
\njudicial aspects but also political ones, including those related
\nto the execution of power in the field. This means that
\nlitigation activities made through legal aid services should be
\nsupplemented with non-litigation efforts aimed at strengthening
\nthe power controls at all levels.<\/p>\n
Second, the aim of the legal aid institutions in question must
\ngo beyond \"professional charity\" and be directed towards the
\nadvancement of the sense of respect for justice and for human
\nrights by raising the level of \"legal consciousness\" or regard
\nfor the law among both government officials and ordinary
\ncitizens.<\/p>\n
Third, legal security is among the basic human rights. Legal
\nassistance, therefore, should be given without respect of
\nreligion, descent, ethnic background, political views and
\naffinity and socio-cultural background.<\/p>\n
I think Golkar should take into account these basic
\npreconditions. Otherwise time and the society may well determine
\nthat by establishing a new legal aid center Golkar merely wanted
\nto treat legal aid as a political commodity.<\/p>\n
The writer is lecturer at the Post-graduate Program of Social
\nand Political Sciences of the University of Indonesia, Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/basic-preconditions-for-legal-aid-institutions-1447893297",
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