'Let Supreme Court handle its own crisis'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Observers are calling on the government to let
\nthe Supreme Court handle its own crisis, because any meddling
\nwould undermine the body's independence.<\/p>\n
Three observers agreed yesterday that the government should
\nabstain from making any decision over collusion in the Supreme
\nCourt, including on the question of Chief Justice Soerjono's
\nrequest that President Soeharto dismiss Justice Adi Andojo
\nSoetjipto. The observers are lawyer Munir, former justice
\nminister Ismail Saleh and human rights campaigner Hendardi.<\/p>\n
\"Structurally the Supreme Court is an equal of the
\ngovernment,\" said Munir, who is the secretary of the operational
\ndivision of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that using the law as grounds to dismiss Adi
\nwas inappropriate. The law rules that justices are civil
\nservants, subject to government supervision, whereas actually
\nthey are \"state officials\" of the judicial branch of power,
\nholding the same rank as the executive branch of power, Munir
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Justices of the Supreme Court cannot be treated as civil
\nservants under the government's supervision,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Justice Adi's campaign to bring the practices of collusion and
\ncorruption in the Supreme Court to public attention should be
\nconsidered as an effort to return the Court to its original,
\nequal position with the government and the People's Consultative
\nAssembly, Munir said.<\/p>\n
Ismail Saleh said the question of what to do over the alleged
\ncollusion in the Supreme Court should first be tackled by the
\nSupreme Court itself. \"The Court's independence should be
\nmaintained by leaving it to handle its own problems,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ismail also commented that it is the Court that should decide
\nwho should replace Chief Justice Soerjono, who reaches retirement
\nage in October.<\/p>\n
Yesterday Hendardi called on the Supreme Court to improve its
\nimage by solving its problems in a transparent manner. He
\nsuggested that the Court hold a hearing with the House of
\nRepresentatives to settle the question of who will be the next
\nChief Justice.<\/p>\n
The Court should also give the House of Representatives clear
\ncut criteria before the House proposes candidates for the
\nposition. (16)<\/p>",
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