Judicial independence widely misinterpreted<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said yesterday
\nthat \"judicial independence\" had been widely misinterpreted to
\nmean that judges were immune to government action when they
\nfailed to do their jobs correctly.<\/p>\n
Judges were supervised by the justice ministry and the Supreme
\nCourt in the form of consultation, the minister said when opening
\na one day workshop on judicial freedom.<\/p>\n
The seminar, co-organized by the Justice Ministry and the
\nSupreme Court, was attended by some 250 people, including judges,
\nlawyers, legal observers, and scholars.<\/p>\n
Oetojo dismissed as untrue claims that judges were lacking in
\nindependence because they were controlled by the government via
\nthe justice ministry.<\/p>\n
He said that, even in western democracies like the U.S., the
\nNetherlands and France, judges were supervised by more than one
\nagency and remained, nevertheless, independent.<\/p>\n
Quoting a statement made by President Soeharto at the opening
\nof a chief justices' congress recently, Oetojo said that,
\nalthough judges were supposed to be independent, that did not
\nmean that they should not have relations with government
\nagencies.<\/p>\n
\"On the contrary, they (the judicial system and the
\ngovernment) should develop cooperation and do their jobs
\nindependently as the 1945 Constitution requires,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has three laws concerning judicial independence.<\/p>\n
Oetojo said that there had been persistent demands that only
\nthe Supreme Court supervise judges, as a means of ensuring their
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
But excluding the Justice Ministry from the system of
\nsupervision was impossible, he said, because the Supreme Court
\nwas not authorized to handle non-judicial matters.<\/p>\n
The demands had, however, been accommodated in the 1986 law on
\nthe judicial system, which required judges to consult the
\nministry and the Supreme Court on the appointment, retirement,
\npromotion and transfer of judges, he said.<\/p>\n
Oetojo said that when a judge had to reach a \"fair\" verdict,
\nthe question was not whether the judge was independent or not, or
\nwhether he was a civil servant or not, but whether he decided the
\ncase in accordance with his conscience.<\/p>\n
The real question, he said, was: \"Does the judge have the
\ncourage to fight for justice?\"<\/p>\n
Chief Justice Soerjono, who also addressed the gathering,
\nagreed with Oetojo.<\/p>\n
He said that, in court, decision-making was in the hands of
\nthe judge and not subject to external interference.<\/p>\n
\"We already have a good supervisory system for judges, with
\nthe presence of laws regulating the judicial system,\" Soerjono
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"However, fair judicial decisions will depend on each
\nindividual judge.\" (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/judicial-independence-widely-misinterpreted-1447893297",
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