'People's sense of justice ignored'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): More criticism was voiced yesterday against the
\nSupreme Court over the way it had attempted to cover up alleged
\ncollusion involving its senior judges.<\/p>\n
A group of lawyers, claiming to represent all Indonesian
\nlawyers, marched to the Supreme Court and told court spokesman
\nToton Suprapto that the court had trampled on people's sense of
\njustice.<\/p>\n
The lawyers' statement cited the way Chief Justice Soerjono
\ntried to deny Justice Adi Andojo Soetjipto's allegation of
\ncollusion in the court by saying that what really happened was a
\n\"violation of procedures\".<\/p>\n
\"The chief justice's statement implied that the court was
\nreclusive, afraid of being scrutinized,\" said Effendy Salman who
\nled the group.<\/p>\n
\"Are we to believe that the Court is infallible?\" Effendy
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The statement was signed by about 100 lawyers from several
\ncities including Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Palembang, Bandar
\nLampung, Surabaya and Denpasar.<\/p>\n
Effendy, the executive director of the Bandung-based Nusantara
\nLegal Aid Institute, also said that injustice occurred in many
\nland dispute cases across the country.<\/p>\n
He asked the Supreme Court to heed the people's cry for
\njustice.<\/p>\n
Lawyer M. Yamin said the alleged Supreme Court collusion case
\nwas only the tip of the iceberg when it came to rampant collusion
\nand corruption in the country's judicial system.<\/p>\n
\"Because of this situation, public trust of the government is
\nin danger of being eroded,\" he said, adding that the justices
\nshould have taken advantage of their political position to fight
\ncollusion and bribery.<\/p>\n
Toton asked the lawyers not to generalize, saying that not all
\njustices were the same. \"They are individuals with different
\nqualities.\"<\/p>\n
Toton said that around 800 new cases were submitted to the
\nSupreme Court every month. The court tries about 1,000 cases
\nevery month, and it still has a backlog of 16,000 cases. (16)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/peoples-sense-of-justice-ignored-1447893297",
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