Customary laws need place in legal system<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Chief Justice Soerjono said yesterday that the
\nlegal system must not overlook the traditional and customary laws
\nobserved in rural areas as Indonesia pursues its program of
\nnational development.<\/p>\n
Soerjono said yesterday that customary laws, which govern
\nlocal practices and customs in rural areas, are not taken as
\nseriously by the government as the national criminal code, which
\nis a legacy of the Dutch colonial authorities.<\/p>\n
\"Neglecting adat (customary law) implies a disregard of the
\npeople's rights,\" he said at a seminar sponsored by the Catholic
\nAtmajaya University.<\/p>\n
Former finance minister Frans Seda argued that it is senseless
\nto develop the country's economy if the people's awareness of
\nnational laws is not improved.<\/p>\n
Soerjono said that one of the main problems of raising the
\npeople's awareness of law -- especially civil law -- is that the
\ncountry lacks its own laws.<\/p>\n
The chief justice added that the present criminal code was
\nmade by the Dutch authorities according to their customs, which
\nare no longer suitable.<\/p>\n
Customary laws have long been observed in rural areas and
\nstill play an important role in local judicial systems. He added
\nthat a number of customary laws could even be incorporated into
\nnational laws.<\/p>\n
Max Boli Sabon, a lecturer at Atmajaya, said in his paper that
\nin the rural areas of East Flores the local people still rely on
\ncustomary judges.<\/p>\n
\"We discovered that a customary judge there handles more than
\n60 cases a year,\" Boli said.<\/p>\n
He said that the judges in most rural villages are usually
\nalso the village chiefs, who also share their authority over
\nlocal customary courts with other respected public figures such
\nas scholars.<\/p>\n
Boli said that local judicial teams usually include tribal
\nchiefs and council chiefs in charge of preserving local
\ntradition.<\/p>\n
\"They take a decisive role when the village chiefs fail to
\ncarry out their judicial tasks,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The lecturer also said that if the customary judges do not
\nsupport village authorities the latter have a difficult time
\nfunctioning effectively.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the government review the working systems of
\nvillage administrations, whose leadership is often overshadowed
\nby the power held by customary judges.<\/p>\n
Soerjono said that the results of his various studies
\nconducted in 1994 in the regions of Flores were supported by
\nother comparative studies done in West Nusa Tenggara, Lombok,
\nBali and Java and in Batak and Minangkabau communities. (16)<\/p>",
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