Judicial corruption: Where to go?<\/p>\n
Todung Mulya Lubis, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Frans Winarta's article on judicial corruption (The Jakarta
\nPost, Oct. 31, 2005) lays much of the blame for the tragic state
\nof the Indonesian judiciary precisely where it belongs -- with
\nthose in the legal profession who work to undermine the judicial
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
It is indeed a tragic state of affairs when lawyers can openly
\nboast that they can guarantee a judicial outcome, and taunt their
\nopponents with the inevitability that they will lose, not because
\nof legal arguments, but because of the inadequacy of judicial
\nsalaries.<\/p>\n
It is a tragic state of affairs when two courts in two
\ndifferent parts of the country reach virtually word-for-word
\njudgments, each totally absurd as a matter of jurisprudence, and
\nwhere the only link between the two courts is the plaintiffs'
\nlawyer. The odds of those identical judgments being genuinely
\narrived at are similar to the odds of a room full of young
\nchildren with typewriters accidentally creating the works of
\nShakespeare.<\/p>\n
Yet all these things have happened in a group of cases in
\nwhich I am involved.<\/p>\n
We, like many other defendants in cases brought by businesses
\nseeking to avoid their obligations, have taken comfort that while
\nthe lower courts are riddled with corruption and that we would
\ninevitably lose at that level, we could at least appeal to the
\nSupreme Court there was a good chance that our cases would be
\nheard on their merits.<\/p>\n
Now that too seems doubtful. Allegations of corruption
\ninvolving a number of senior justices at the Supreme Court has
\ncaused a lot of anxiety among all justice seekers.<\/p>\n
The cost of corruption to the Indonesian economy is enormous.
\nOne of the elements that is invariably considered by foreign
\ncreditors in calculating their interest rates for lending into
\nIndonesia is the reliability and transparency of Indonesia's
\njudicial system.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's current external debt is US$136 billion. If, as a
\nresult of these problems in the courts, foreign creditors were to
\nfactor in an additional 1 percent into the cost of lending to
\nIndonesia, the annual cost to Indonesia -- based on its current
\ndebt -- would be $1.36 billion. That is over $3.5 million a day.<\/p>\n
There have now been a number of instances where defaulting
\ndebtors have made use of the Indonesian court system simply to
\navoid meeting their obligations to international investors. This
\npractice is attracting attention among the international investor
\ncommunity, and is particularly worrying since incidents like
\nthese can only serve to deter international investors, on whose
\ninvestment Indonesia's continuing economic recovery relies.<\/p>\n
A fair and independent judicial system is a cornerstone for a
\nmodernizing economy. An honest and trustworthy legal profession
\nis a necessary prerequisite to an effective judicial system.<\/p>\n
Although the news that the Corruption Eradication Commission
\nis now looking into the practices of the judiciary is welcome,
\nwithout the support of a corruption-free legal profession, its
\nwork will be seriously undermined.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is blessed with many highly intelligent, capable,
\nexpert and honest lawyers, some of whom I am honored to call my
\nfriends. If the rest of the legal profession could follow their
\nexample it would be an important step towards achieving the
\nPresident's objective of an honest legal system where obligations
\nare fairly enforced by an effective judiciary.<\/p>\n
The writer is a senior attorney at the Lubis, Santosa and
\nMaulana law firm. He can be reached at tmulya@cbn.net.id.<\/p>",
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