Payoffs prominent in court system<\/p>\n
By Fabiola Desy Unidjaja<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Many cite law enforcement as the key to
\nstructuring a better way of life in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
But Indonesia's judicial system, one of the backbones of law
\nenforcement, has yet to show any signs of change.<\/p>\n
Too often people claim that money, not the law, is the
\ndetermining factor in legal decisions.<\/p>\n
Testimony by several lawyers also indicates that the practice
\nis far too easy to conduct, particularly in civil cases.<\/p>\n
Supreme Court Secretary-General Pranowo concedes that such
\ncorruption has infected all levels of the judicial system, even
\nup to the country's highest court.<\/p>\n
"I don't close my eyes to the fact that 'numerous' judges are
\nengaged in the practice. But for me 'numerous' can mean many or
\njust a few of them," Pranowo told The Jakarta Post earlier this
\nweek.<\/p>\n
Preliminary research by Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW)
\nclaims that only five of 41 supreme justices in the Supreme Court
\ncannot be bought, while the rest have questionable integrity.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon told the Post that such practices
\nwere real and lawyers could easily sense it in certain cases.<\/p>\n
"I'm sure that it (bribes) exists, I don't have any doubt
\nabout that. But I still believe there are some judges with
\nintegrity," Tampubolon remarked.<\/p>\n
But Tampubolon, who is legal council to former president
\nSoeharto, says he has never personally bribed a judge.<\/p>\n
"I do give the judges presents or tokens during Idul Fitri or
\nNew Year, but not concerning a case," he said.<\/p>\n
But several young lawyers, who spoke on condition of
\nanonymity, admitted to the Post that bribery was very much a part
\nof their everyday procedures in making legal arguments in court.<\/p>\n
They discounted popular terms such as a "court mafia", saying
\nthat the process was really very simple.<\/p>\n
One lawyer recounted how in 1997 he paid off a judge with Rp 1
\nbillion when representing a business tycoon who was involved in a
\ntrillion rupiah bank scam with a private bank.<\/p>\n
"I remember carrying the suitcase containing all the money. I
\nalso handed over it to the judge himself," the lawyer said
\nearlier last week.<\/p>\n
The fate of the case that made news headlines that year
\nremains suspended and largely forgotten by the public.<\/p>\n
The businessman still runs his multinational company, while
\nthe private bank has been liquidated.<\/p>\n
Another lawyer said that from his experience at the Jakarta
\nprovincial court, judges would not even look at your case if you
\ncould not come up with at least Rp 75 million.<\/p>\n
"Once you mention the amount they will process your case," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
"You must pay everything in cash and hand it over before the
\nverdict is read out. This way they can't trace the payoff, until
\nmaybe one of us comes forward," he remarked.<\/p>\n
But how does one know which judges to bribe?<\/p>\n
Another lawyer said that he only had to casually spend some
\ntime talking with people in the courthouse.<\/p>\n
"Just ask around inside the building and you will know. It's
\nvery simple, there's nothing special about it," he said.<\/p>\n
"It's just like (paying off someone) when you are trying to
\nget a driver's license or an identity card," he said.<\/p>\n
He said a lawyer only had to walk up to the judge and say the
\nmagic words: "So how can you help the case sir; we are ready to
\nsupport it with some substantial funds," he said, adding that the
\ntransaction would automatically occur later.<\/p>\n
"And don't forget to mention the amount," he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that as a general guideline for a civil case
\ninvolving Rp 10 billion, an amount less than Rp 200 million was
\nnever mentioned.<\/p>\n
He estimated that for "big cases", such as when a district
\ncourt threw out an indictment earlier this month against a
\nbusinessman who was involved in another well-known bank scandal,
\n"the pay-off is more than Rp 2 billion."<\/p>\n
But far from bemoaning the practice, these lawyers seem to
\nperceive it as fair game in the legal field. And if there is such
\na thing as honor in bribery, they say that judges never betray
\nyou by taking money from both sides.<\/p>\n
"They only take money from one side and once they receive the
\nmoney they will never let you down, no matter how impossible the
\ncase may seem," the lawyer said.<\/p>\n
"It's first come first served."<\/p>\n
Salaries<\/p>\n
While there is no excuse for such practices, legal
\npractitioners point to the fact that judges in the past were
\nseverely underpaid and overworked.<\/p>\n
Pranowo said judges had received a 100 percent hike in their
\nsalaries.<\/p>\n
A judge now takes home about Rp 3 million a month, while a
\nsupreme justice receives about Rp 10 million.<\/p>\n
Another problem is the lack of a formal external watchdog.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court is the only monitoring body for all judges
\nin the country. "We have the right to examine their verdicts, but
\nonly if we receive public complaints," he added.<\/p>\n
A backlog of cases also compels many with money to bribe their
\nway through a fast track legal process.<\/p>\n
For example, the Supreme Court receives about 7,500 cases
\nannually, in addition to the some 12,000 cases still pending.<\/p>\n
"With that amount, we have to finish about 40 cases each day
\nand we only have 17 teams of supreme justices," Pranowo said.<\/p>\n
"If we pay the judges off, the cases will resolve sooner," one
\nlawyer remarked.<\/p>\n
One solution being looked at is the establishment of an
\nindependent commission consisting of legal experts and former
\njudges to review questionable verdicts.<\/p>\n
"But we need the public to report their complaints before the
\ncommission can conduct an investigation," Pranowo said.<\/p>\n
To reduce the amount of cases at the Supreme Court, Pranowo
\nproposed certain requirements before a case was brought to the
\nnation's highest court.<\/p>\n
ICW has similarly proposed that only criminal cases which
\nsanction at least a five-year jail sentence or civil cases
\ninvolving a dispute in the amount of over Rp 100 million be
\nbrought before the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Apart from higher salaries, ICW stresses that transparency is
\ncrucial, particularly in the nomination process.<\/p>\n
"Legislators should examine candidates' track record and audit
\ntheir assets," ICW coordinator Teten Masduki told the Post.<\/p>\n
Legislator Hartono Mardjono of the Crescent Star faction said
\nwhile fundamental changes were being made there should be a
\nclean-out of current judges.<\/p>\n
"In the short-term, personnel changes would be an effective
\nsolution," he said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
Tampubolon and Pranowo disagreed with such an idea.<\/p>\n
"A watchdog system by the House, through hearings, and a fact-
\nfinding team is a good start," Tampubolon said.<\/p>\n
"There are thousands of judges and some of them are good and
\nhave integrity. A mass replacement would only sacrifice the good
\njudges." Pranowo added.(dja)<\/p>",
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