Towards judicial liberty<\/p>\n
The skepticism that attends the recent move by the House of
\nRepresentatives to end the duality in supervision over the
\njudiciary, by placing control over the country's court system
\nsolely in the hands of the Supreme Court, illustrates perhaps
\nbetter than anything the distrust of state power that continues
\nto exists among the public. After all, the step means, at least
\non paper, that Indonesia is moving closer toward achieving a true
\nseparation of powers as envisioned by the trias politica
\nprinciple of the independence of the powers of the state.<\/p>\n
The negation of the trias politica principle of the separation
\nof powers has a pretty long history in Indonesia -- dating back
\nto the late 1950s, when then president Sukarno declared the
\nwestern style of \"free-fight liberalism\" unworkable for
\nIndonesia. Consequently, Sukarno proclaimed his own system of
\n\"guided democracy,\" which he claimed was inspired by Indonesia's
\nown indigenous values, with all the powers of government
\nconcentrated in the hands of the executive -- that is to say, the
\npresident. On March 6, 1962, Sukarno openly incorporated the
\nSupreme Court into his government by appointing its chairman,
\nWirjono Prodjodikoro, a cabinet minister. That date formally
\nmarked the end of the independence of the judiciary in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
After the New Order government under the leadership of
\npresident Soeharto took over in 1968, a token gesture toward
\ndemocracy was made by once again taking the Supreme Court out of
\nthe executive branch, and reinstituting it as an independent
\norganization. Even so, under the authoritarian regime of
\npresident Soeharto, judges often felt pressured to rule in favor
\nof defendants with good connections to the center of power,
\nespecially in political cases. Any rejection of government
\nintervention could result in dismissal or transfer to some remote
\nand isolated area in this vast archipelago.<\/p>\n
After the birth of the reform movement in 1999, an odd vestige
\nof the old executive-heavy arrangement that had been inherited
\nfrom the Soeharto era remained in existence, in the duality that
\nwas contained in the two aforementioned laws. The point is that
\nwhile one law puts the Supreme Court in charge of dealing mostly
\nwith appeals, the second empowers the Ministry of Justice and
\nHuman Rights with overseeing the promotion of judges as well as
\ntheir placement, salaries, and other administrative affairs.
\nObviously, this kind of arrangement leaves the door wide open to
\ngovernment interference in the administration of justice.<\/p>\n
With last Thursday's revision of the two laws, the House of
\nRepresentatives has in effect removed a major obstacle toward
\ntransforming Indonesia's judiciary truly into a free and
\nindependent body. Nevertheless, doubts persist. Rizqi S.
\nAssegaff, of the Institute of Research and Advocacy for
\nIndependent Courts (LeIP), for example, says the revisions were
\nmade in a hurry and without the public's participation. The
\nrevised laws still give too much power to the Supreme Court
\njustices. The revised legislation, he said, should have
\nspecifically mentioned that without the approval of a judicial
\ncommittee, judges cannot be dismissed or removed.<\/p>\n
Another legal expert, Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, of the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, agreed that the revised laws fail to
\nmention the need for the presence of supervisory bodies that
\ncould restrict the power of the courts. \"I also do not see any
\npolitical will from the government to establish an independent
\njudicial system,\" she commented. \"It will take time to develop.\"<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, it must be admitted that the revised laws
\nrepresent an important step in the right direction. For too long
\nIndonesians have only been able to dream about an independent
\njudiciary presiding over the meting out of true justice in this
\ncountry. Of course, much more work needs to be done to turn that
\ndream into reality. It is not an easy task to accomplish. But so
\nlong as Indonesians are willing to persist, we are confident that
\na fairer, more impartial judiciary will gradually emerge.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/towards-judicial-liberty-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}