Anticorruption judges hard to find, legal observer says

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

People with convincing track records in fighting corruption are hardly to be found on the list of applicants for ad hoc judges in the proposed corruption court, an activist says.

Asep Rahmat Fajar of the Indonesian Legal Observers Society (MAPPI) said on Saturday the lack of enthusiasm of credible figures to sit on the special court indicated growing public disappointment at the inability of existing law enforcement institutions to deal with corruption.

"We have a new institution dealing with corruption and all legal institutions have pledged to eradicate corruption, but the crime remains rampant here," he said.

He was referring to the newly established Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

However, Asep also pointed to the selection committee, which, he said, lacked transparency.

"It failed to inform the public about its work and secure public trust. The result is, we don't know the track records of those who have applied for ad hoc judicial posts. We don't know whether the applicants have a genuine commitment to eradicate corruption or are just seeking jobs," he said.

Unlike the selection committee for KPK members, that for corruption court judges did not provide the public with sufficient access to the selection process.

A selection committee member acknowledged that his supervisors barred him from explaining the selection process to the public.

"I have been ordered not to tell journalists or the public anything about the process until we publish the results of the selection tests in newspapers," said the official, who declined to be named.

The selection committee, consisting of Supreme Court officials and assisted by other officials from the National Law Commission (KHN) and Partnership for Governance Reform, had earlier promised to be open about each stage of the selection process.

It published last week in several national newspapers the names of 189 of a total 379 applicants who had passed the administrative screening.

As many as 63 applied for posts at Supreme Court level and 34 at high court and 92 at district court level.

One of the applicants for the corruption court at district court level is M. Yamin, the prosecutor-cum-recipient of the Bung Hatta anticorruption award, who failed in his bid for a KPK seat.

Applicants who passed the administrative test will sit a written test on May 1 in either Surabaya, Semarang, Bandung or Jakarta, depending on where they live.

The recruitment is expected to be completed on June 21, with six judges selected for the corruption court at district court level and four at high court and six at Supreme Court level.

Earlier, the committee elected 16 career judges to sit in the corruption court. However, the selection was criticized for its lack of transparency.

Asep said transparency was essential as the committee was searching for credible and clean judges who would deal with high- profile corruption cases passed to it by the KPK.

"According to the law, the KPK cannot halt its investigation into graft cases, meaning all such cases it handles must be heard by the corruption court. Without credible judges, the court would contribute nothing to the country's fight against corruption," he said.