MA under fire over controversial bill<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court has come under fire for considering drafting a
\nbill that would allow immediate imprisonment without trial for
\nthose found in contempt of court, with critics saying this would
\nbreach criminal procedures and give judges too much authority.<\/p>\n
Although acknowledging that the country required a regulation
\non contempt of court, legal experts Mahfud M.D. and Andi Muis
\nsaid on Monday imprisonment without trial was wrong.<\/p>\n
Constitutional law expert Mahfud said one of the main
\nprinciples of the law was to ensure that justice was upheld.<\/p>\n
"Sending people to jail without trial is against the founding
\nprinciples of justice and any such regulation must be rejected,"
\nMahfud told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Mahfud, the former state minister for justice and human rights
\nunder president Abdurrahman Wahid, said every accused person
\ndeserved a trial no matter their alleged offense.<\/p>\n
Muis of Hasanuddin University in Makassar said sending people
\nto jail without trial was a violation of the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n
Article 1 of the code states that no criminal action can be
\nprosecuted except in accordance with the existing Criminal Code.<\/p>\n
"Such a regulation (as proposed by the Supreme Court) goes
\nagainst justice itself and would only provide excessive authority
\nto judges. It is like political intervention on the part of the
\nSupreme Court in the legal system," Muis said.<\/p>\n
He said if the Supreme Court insisted on adopting the
\nregulation it should issue other regulations to counterbalance
\nthe measure.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court has drafted a regulation on contempt of
\ncourt aimed at protecting court's "dignity and honor".<\/p>\n
According to the draft, criminal defendants, plaintiffs,
\ndefense lawyers, prosecutors, witnesses, police officers, court
\nofficials, journalists and visitors are subject to the measure.<\/p>\n
Under the draft regulation, journalists could be charged with
\ncontempt of court for one-sided, subjective and judgmental news
\nstories or for criticizing a judge's private life. According to
\nthe Supreme Court, these things could prevent a fair and free
\ntrial.<\/p>\n
Currently, contempt of court is prosecuted under Article 310
\nof the Criminal Code on defamation, which carries a maximum
\nsentence of 16 months in jail, and Article 311, which carries a
\nmaximum sentence of four years in prison.<\/p>\n
As a comparison, in the United States contempt of court as a
\ncriminal offense is defined as willful disobedience of a court
\norder or disrespectful behavior in the courtroom.<\/p>\n
In the United Kingdom, it is defined as disobeying
\ninstructions from a judge or a court of law.<\/p>\n
Mahfud said any contempt of court regulation in Indonesia
\nwould also have to cover the actions of judges, because rampant
\nbribery of judges dishonored the court.<\/p>\n
"It is common knowledge that many judges seek 'backroom deals'
\nto settle cases. This has to be regarded as contempt of court,"
\nMahfud said.<\/p>\n
He recalled an incident about a decade ago when a defendant
\nthrew a shoe at the presiding judge after the court ruled against
\nher despite a prior deal she had made with the judge.<\/p>\n
"Although she disrespected the court the judge shared
\nresponsibility, and this kind of behavior should be covered in
\nany regulation," Mahfud said.<\/p>\n
In England, journalists cannot publish or broadcast
\ninformation that poses a substantial risk of seriously
\nprejudicing a fair trial.<\/p>\n
Muis said that all concerned parties, including the press,
\nshould hold discussions to find a common definition of contempt
\nof court for the media.<\/p>\n
"What kind of news should be considered contempt of court, so
\nthat everybody has the same guidelines for determining contempt
\nof court," he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested that trial by the press should be regarded as
\ncontempt of court.<\/p>\n
"It is true that the media has the obligation to honor other
\ninstitutions, but this should be achieved by consensus," he said.<\/p>",
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