Better salary key to boosting judges' integrity and quality<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A better salary and complete organizational
\nseparation from the bureaucracy are key to improving the
\nintegrity and quality of judges in Indonesia, head of the Bandung
\nDistrict Court Djoko Soetono said.<\/p>\n
Djoko, 57, argued that at present the status of judges was
\ncaught between the roles of a legal officer and a civil servant.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Bandung, West Java, at a discussion on The
\nSignificance of the Independence of Law Institutions in Legal
\nReform, Djoko pointed out that based on Law No. 2\/1986, judges
\nhave the same status as civil servants.<\/p>\n
"So how can you expect judges to be free or exempted from the
\nintrusion of other powers?"<\/p>\n
As a result, the public places little trust on the decision of
\njudges, particularly when hearing a case which has political
\nnuances, he said.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, if society expects judges to perform a competent
\nrole in such challenging situation, judges must also be provided
\nwith the appropriate salary, he said.<\/p>\n
According to Djoko, Law No. 14\/1970 already stipulates that
\nthe salary of judges would be structured and arranged separately
\n(from the rest of the bureaucracy), however it has yet to be
\ncarried out.<\/p>\n
"Up to now the salary of judges is still the same as regular
\ncivil servants," he said as quoted by Antara. "In fact teachers
\nwho are civil servants can earn more because they can moonlight
\nby teaching in other schools."<\/p>\n
Djoko further lamented the fact that despite the importance of
\nthe law, the overall budget for the Ministry of Justice was still
\nequivalent to the Ministry of Religious Affairs.<\/p>\n
He called for a greater public understanding of judges who
\nwere often swamped with cases.<\/p>\n
People must not generalize skeptical perceptions about judges
\nbeing involved in a "court mafia", he said.<\/p>\n
"Please remember there are only about 4,000 judges in this
\ncountry scattered across 256 district courts," he said. "Look at
\nthe judges serving in very remote and isolated areas, how can
\nthey be involved in collusive practices when they handle mostly
\nsmall radio theft cases."<\/p>\n
Regardless of what people may often think, a large number of
\njudges, especially those serving outside of Java, do not even
\nhave a motorcycle, let alone a car, he said. (mds)<\/p>",
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