Lawyers call for one bar associations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Indonesian Lawyers (IPHI)
\ncalled on Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman to make one last
\nditch to unite the various groups of lawyers into a single
\nassociation.<\/p>\n
"We welcome and will support the minister's efforts to
\nestablish one bar association in Indonesia," IPHI chairman Abdul
\nAziz Mohamad Balhmar said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Aziz said Indonesian lawyers must unite before foreign
\nlawyers begin arriving to practice in Indonesia, which will be
\npossible under the newly ratified General Agreement on Tariffs
\nand Trade (GATT) which comes into force on January 1.<\/p>\n
Greater trade conflicts between Indonesian and foreign
\ncompanies are likely with the greater trade liberalization
\nmandated under GATT and this means that Indonesian lawyers would
\noften have to deal with foreign lawyers.<\/p>\n
Oetojo in his a year-end media conference on Tuesday
\nemphasized that the government also wants to see only a single
\nbar association because that would make supervision and
\ncommunication with lawyers a great deal easier.<\/p>\n
The minister said he was prepared to act as a catalyst for
\nthe establishment of the united bar association.<\/p>\n
A single association for every profession is also mandated
\nby a 1985 legislation on mass organizations. The government for
\nexample will only recognize one association of journalists
\n(Indonesian Journalists Union), one labor union (All Indonesia
\nWorkers Union).<\/p>\n
Uniting a bunch of lawyers however has proven more
\ndifficult, in part because of divergence interests of people in
\nthe government.<\/p>\n
The first attempt at uniting the various lawyers
\norganizations was in 1985 with the establishment of Ikadin, the
\nIndonesian Bar Association, which came at the initiative of the
\nchief justice and the minister of justice of the time.<\/p>\n
Ikadin however was beset by internal disputes and in 1990,
\n135 of its 850 members resigned and formed a rival organization,
\nthe Indonesian Advocates' Association (AAI), with the blessing of
\nthe minister of justice of the time.<\/p>\n
In 1991, supported by the minister of justice and minister
\nof home affairs of the time, AAI and five lawyers'
\norganizations -- IPHI, LBPH Kosgoro, BPKH MKGR, LKBH Trisula and
\nLPPH -- joined forces to establish Poperi, the Association of
\nIndonesian Lawyers Organizations.<\/p>\n
But the exclusion of Ikadin undermined its claim to be the
\nsole umbrella organization for the lawyers' profession.<\/p>\n
IPHI was established in 1987 mostly by young lawyers who
\nwere disgruntled over being denied membership in Kadin which
\nimposed strict criteria. It has since grown to bring membership
\nto over 5,000 lawyers in 25 provinces.<\/p>\n
Aziz set one term for the establishment of a single bar
\nassociation -- that it does not discriminate against junior
\nlawyers, the very reason IPHI was established in 1987.<\/p>\n
"The bar association must accept and consider all lawyers
\nequally," he said. "It must accommodate all lawyers and legal
\nconsultants, whether they are law school graduates or not."<\/p>\n
"We might not have established IPHI if Ikadin had accepted
\nour membership in 1987," he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Yan Juanda Saputra, a deputy chairman of IPHI,
\ncalled for the enactment of a law on advocates first before any
\nnew effort is made at establishing a single bar association.<\/p>\n
"The law on advocates will help direct the establishment of
\na single bar association." he said. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lawyers-call-for-one-bar-associations-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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