Minister Yusril rules out foreign judges for local courts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza
\nMahendra has rejected a proposal to hire judges from the
\nNetherlands for Indonesian courts because of a perceived dearth
\nof clean local judges.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a meeting of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) in
\nMakassar, South Sulawesi, on Thursday, Yusril said the proposal
\nwould violate the law.<\/p>\n
\"Hiring Dutch judges is like imposing a new colonialism,\"
\nYusril, who is also the party chairman, told The Jakarta Post
\nafter opening the meeting.<\/p>\n
He suspected the proposal emerged after the government
\nappeared to be lacking in candidates qualified to fill 19
\nvacancies on the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
The proposal was first disclosed by Faisal Basri, a member of
\na government economic advisory team, on Monday. He said the
\ngovernment might consider hiring Dutch judges to handle specific
\ncases, such as corporate bankruptcies.<\/p>\n
The idea to hire foreign judges was made because of the public
\nimpression that most Indonesian judges are corrupt. The Dutch
\nwere chosen because Indonesia uses the Dutch judicial system.<\/p>\n
Indonesian courts have been criticized for rejecting
\nbankruptcy petitions and hampering the process of settling
\nmountains of unpaid corporate debts.<\/p>\n
Yusril disclosed that the proposal to hire foreign judges was
\ndiscussed at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"But I rejected the idea, although there was an agreement to
\nimprove the performance of the commercial courts,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the meeting agreed to seek the removal of some heads
\nof Jakarta's five district courts to speed up the improvement
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung also dismissed the plan to hire
\nforeign judges, saying it would undermine the country's efforts
\nto uphold the supremacy of law.<\/p>\n
\"It seems that we no longer trust our own judges,\" Akbar, who
\nis also chairman of the Golkar Party, said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said the government must instead strive to improve the
\nlegal apparatus, including judges, police and prosecutors.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged the process would take time.<\/p>\n
Legal expert Laica Marzuki from Hasanuddin University in
\nMakassar warned the proposal to hire foreign judges would create
\nnew problems.<\/p>\n
\"There are bad judges, but there also judges who are clean and
\nwho can be counted on,\" Laica, who is also a supreme justice
\ncandidate, said. (27\/jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-yusril-rules-out-foreign-judges-for-local-courts-1447893297",
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