Team to probe bribe problem in judicial system<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice
\nwill form a special team to investigate allegations that many
\njudges have tainted the judiciary system by accepting bribes.<\/p>\n
Chief Justice Soerjono said yesterday the team will make an
\ninquiry into allegations made by former deputy chief justice
\nZaenal Asikin Kusumah-Atmadja, who said that many judges took
\nbribes.<\/p>\n
If necessary, Asikin will be invited to provide data that
\ncould support his statement, Soerjono added.<\/p>\n
Asikin was quoted by Kompas daily as saying that up to 50
\npercent of judges in the country took bribes and that collusion
\nin the court system was controlled by what he called a "court
\nmafia".<\/p>\n
"How could he give that figure? On what basis did he say
\nthat?" asked Soerjono, who was accompanied by Ali Boediarto, the
\nsecretary-general of the Indonesian Judges' Association (Ikahi).<\/p>\n
Asikin earlier made headlines with his daring decision in
\nfavor of villagers who had to give up their land for the
\nconstruction of the Kedungombo dam in Central Java. The Supreme
\nCourt then ordered the governor to pay Rp 50,000 (US$23) per
\nsquare meter of property in addition to "immaterial compensation"
\namounting to Rp 2 billion to each plaintiff.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court later reviewed the case upon the request of
\nthe governor, after which then chief justice, Purwoto S.
\nGandasubrata, annulled the decision.<\/p>\n
Soerjono rejected the term "court mafia", saying that mafia
\nreferred to organized crime.<\/p>\n
Purwoto, who retired last month, had the same objection to the
\nterm. "It is collusion between irresponsible individuals," he
\ninsisted.<\/p>\n
He admitted that some judges may have violated laws, but the
\nnumber was much lower than what Asikin suggested.<\/p>\n
Independent<\/p>\n
Baharuddin Lopa, Secretary-General of the National Commission
\nof Human Rights, said the team in charge of inquiring into the
\nbribery allegations must be independent. He also suggested that
\nthe team members must be "clean".<\/p>\n
Soerjono, Purwoto and Lopa made the comments during a break in
\na seminar on law held by the Forum Keadilan biweekly magazine and
\nIkahi.<\/p>\n
The issue of bribery in court was discussed in the first
\nsession of the seminar, which featured Lopa, Loebby Loqman, a
\nprofessor in law from the University of Indonesia, and Yahya
\nHarahap, a Supreme Court justice.<\/p>\n
Lopa pointed out that bribery in court had become more and
\nmore organized.<\/p>\n
Lopa said that in the past it was known that people offered
\nbribe money at the judges' house. Today, the colluding parties do
\nnot necessarily have to meet as they can use the services of
\nmiddlemen. The amount of the bribe is also set in a more direct
\nmanner, he added.<\/p>\n
"In short, it has become a business," he said.<\/p>\n
He said even though the court did not always favor the rich,
\nthere is a tendency for poor people to lose their legal battles.
\nAs a result, people have become skeptical about law enforcement
\nand reluctant to deal with law enforcers, according to Lopa, who
\nonce worked as a provincial prosecutor's office chief.<\/p>\n
He also criticized lawyers for contributing to the negative
\nimage of the judiciary by offering bribes to law enforcers.<\/p>\n
Judges should improve their moral integrity, as well as their
\nprofessionalism, in order to clear away their tainted image, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Lopa criticized judges who based their verdicts solely on what
\nhe called "formal truth" without considering the social aspects.<\/p>\n
"A good decision considers the social milieu," he said.<\/p>\n
He observed that in land cases a lot of poor people, who had
\ntilled the land in dispute for years, lost the legal battle
\nbecause they failed to show the court the official documents that
\nthey never had.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, rich people can easily obtain documents
\nwith money and then claim that they had the right to the land,
\nLopa charged.<\/p>\n
"From social point of view, it is the farmers who have the
\nright to the land, but from the judicial point of view the rights
\ngo to the conglomerates," he said. (sim)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/team-to-probe-bribe-problem-in-judicial-system-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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