Chief Justice endorses plan for mediation system<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Chief Justice Soerjono yesterday gave his
\npersonal backing to the calls to establish an Alternative Dispute
\nResolution (ADR) system to supplement the courts of law in
\nresolving disputes.<\/p>\n
Soerjono in his written speech at a law seminar said the ADR,
\nwhich proposes the use of mediation to settle out of court, could
\nsignificantly ease the burden of the Supreme Court in hearing
\nappeal cases.<\/p>\n
\"The huge amount of backlogged cases at the Supreme Court
\ncould be reduced if the lower courts were more selective on cases
\nthey try,\" he said in the speech read by Deputy Chief Justice for
\nState Administrative Courts Th. Ketut Suraputra.<\/p>\n
The one-day seminar on the judicial condition was organized by
\nthe Legal Aid and Supervision Institute of Golkar (LPPH-Golkar).<\/p>\n
Soerjono said that at the last count in March, the Supreme
\nCourt had still to clear 15,892 of backlogged cases, consisting
\nof 13,337 appeal cases, 2,436 review cases, and 119 cases
\nawaiting presidential clemency.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court receives 2,000 new cases to hear each year,
\nwhile its 51 judges can clear just slightly above that rate.<\/p>\n
Soerjono admitted that according to article 5 of Law No.
\n14\/1970 of the judicial system, lower courts cannot reject any
\nincoming cases or disputes. \"However, judges of the district
\ncourts have to attempt to settle cases or disputes amicably
\nduring the preliminary examination,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Efforts to reduce backlog cases through Alternative Dispute
\nResolution have been proposed,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He said that the mechanism was already recognized by Law No.
\n14\/1970 but it is rarely put into use.<\/p>\n
Deputy Attorney General for State Administrative Cases
\nSuhadibroto in his presentation at the seminar said the mechanism
\nhas actually been practiced but only informally by the courts
\nchiefly for business disputes.<\/p>\n
According to a 1992 survey on business dispute management held
\nby the Center for Legal Studies, 85 percent of the respondents
\nsettled their disputes through mediation; another 10 percent took
\nthe disputes to arbitration; and the remaining five percent chose
\nto bring their disputes to court.<\/p>\n
\"The mediation and arbitration approaches have long been
\npracticed by the people. Why shouldn't we institutionalize the
\norganization and mechanism of such practices?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
The practices could be standardized into a law, so that the
\ndispute settlements through mediation and arbitration are final
\ndecisions which are legally binding and should be executed like
\ncourt rulings.<\/p>\n
Erman Radjagukguk, a professor of law at University of
\nIndonesia's post-graduate studies, concurred with Suhadibroto,
\nsaying that it is time to implement the ADR system which has long
\nbeen used in many other countries.<\/p>\n
He pointed out some weaknesses of taking disputes to the
\ncourts, including the cost in time because of the appeals
\nprocesses and the high costs.<\/p>\n
He said court settlements also leave the losing party with a
\nsour taste.<\/p>\n
Erman also called on institutionalizing the alternative
\ndispute resolution system.<\/p>\n
\"We need a new Civil Law, one that includes mechanism and
\nstructural organization for the alternative resolution for
\ndisputes,\" he said.(imn)<\/p>",
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