Advocates yearn for immediate recognition

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian advocates are calling for the immediate enactment of a law that will give their profession the respect they claim they deserve.

Leading lawyers during a meeting of the Association of Indonesian Advocates (AAI) said that a draft legislation, which has been widely discussed by the government, should be modified and presented to the House of Representatives immediately.

In the absence of legislation, the advocates are concerned that their profession will be confused with that of a lawyer.

Any law school graduate can call himself a lawyer, they say, but to become an advocate one needs to pass a host of other requirements, including professional examinations.

They claim that in the courtroom, for example, advocates are due extra respect and esteem.

Advocates are often denied access to information to which they are entitled when conducting their work. New legislation, they conclude, would address this.

Luhut Pangaribuan of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, during the AAI seminar on Thursday, stressed that in a court of law, an advocate's position should be similar to that of the judge and the prosecutor, and not lower as has been the case.

Luhut pointed out that advocates are still often scorned by courtroom judges. This would be less likely to happen with legislation that clearly spells out the position of an advocate.

Another leading lawyer arguing for the legislation was Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, who said that the current regulations fail to address the position and role of advocates.

The advocates insisted on changing the draft that has already been prepared by the government, saying that the bill does not clearly spell out their profession.

An advocate's work is currently regulated by a series of government regulations, although they do not distinguish their profession from that of lawyers.

The AAI, which has 896 members, began their congress at Hotel Indonesia on Thursday to discuss their program and also their leadership.

Yesterday, Yan Apul, who has been deputy chairman to Gani Djemat, officially took over the leadership. Today, the congress will elect a new deputy, who will be groomed to become the association's chairman in five years time to replace Yan Apul.

The legislation for advocates was discussed extensively during a seminar on Thursday held in conjunction with the congress.

One of the speakers, former minister of justice Ismail Saleh, said the legislation should describe the ideal profile of an advocate in Indonesia, one that stresses the moral aspects of the profession.

"The advocates' rules, and code of ethics, should insist that an Indonesian advocate have a high degree of moral integrity, professionalism, and intellectual honesty," Ismail said.

Ismail later told The Jakarta Post that idealism is necessary in a profession as important as that of an advocate. "Indonesian advocates should represent an ideal figure, who always puts truth before material gain". (03)