Work to make judiciary look good, Kalla says<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Vice President Jusuf Kalla called on lawyers on Friday to help
\nimprove the judiciary's reputation by refraining from corruption
\nand bribery in the courts.<\/p>\n
Lawyers are often accused of bribing judges to win their court
\ncases.<\/p>\n
\"The role of lawyers as independent and responsible
\nprofessionals is very important, and apart from law enforcement
\nagencies,\" he told a ceremony to mark the opening of a national
\nmeeting of the Indonesia Advocates Association (AAI) in Bali.<\/p>\n
The event, themed \"the Advocates' Role in Clean and Respected
\nLaw Enforcement\", was attended by Supreme Court Chief Justice
\nBagir Manan and Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid
\nAwaluddin.<\/p>\n
Kalla said that as a pillar in developing supremacy of the
\nlaw, the advocates association was required to uphold its code of
\nethics and monitor the conduct of its members.<\/p>\n
Bagir Manan shared a similar idea, saying that lawyers should
\nplay a role in establishing a clean and respectable judiciary
\nsystem in order to improve its reputation, often tainted by the
\n\"judicial mafia\" tag.<\/p>\n
\"The role of lawyers is crucial because there is no judiciary
\nwithout lawyers, and vice versa, in a modern judiciary system,\"
\nhe said after attending Friday's opening ceremony.<\/p>\n
The chief justice said that only recently had Indonesian
\nlawyers come to understand how important was their role in
\nestablishing a clean judiciary, as they had been \"thinking only
\nabout themselves\" for years.<\/p>\n
\"Now we are supposed to enter the stage of taking real action
\nto improve the reputation of the judiciary. Hopefully, the theme
\nwill not only serve as cosmetics to attract people,\" Bagir said.<\/p>\n
He admitted that advocates often visited judges to ask them to
\nrule in favor of their clients, adding that his office had
\nprohibited judges from meeting with lawyers dealing with cases
\nthey are trying.<\/p>\n
\"It's immoral and against the code of ethics and regulations,\"
\nBagir said.<\/p>\n
Although many lawyers are allegedly involved in the \"judicial
\nmafia\", almost all of them escape justice due to lack of
\nevidence.<\/p>\n
One case was recently revealed by the Corruption Eradication
\nCommission (KPK), which has extensive authority to fight endemic
\ncorruption in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Tengku Syaifuddin Popon, who worked for suspended Aceh
\ngovernor Abdullah Puteh, was caught red-handed by KPK
\ninvestigators allegedly trying to bribe two court clerks of the
\nJakarta High Court.<\/p>\n
The bribe was intended to reduce the 10-year prison term for
\nPuteh, which was handed down by the Anticorruption Court. He had
\nbeen found guilty of corruption over the purchase of a Russian-
\nmade chopper for the Aceh administration.<\/p>\n
The bribery case involving Popon and the two court clerks is
\nbeing tried by the Anticorruption Court.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/work-to-make-judiciary-look-good-kalla-says-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}