Australia, RI boost legal cooperation

JAKARTA: Indonesia and Australia began a two-day meeting on Tuesday to foster legal cooperation between them, which will include the development of a legal system and the making of laws.

Visiting Australian Attorney General Daryl Williams said that the ties would provide "a wide range of benefits for both countries".

"Indonesia needs to encourage foreign investments which will come when the rule of law is observed and the legal system is functioning effectively," Williams said during the inaugural Joint Meeting of the Working Group on Legal Cooperation.

The meeting follows up on the ministerial forum held on Feb. 1999 between the Australian Attorney General's Department and the Indonesian Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra will hold a private meeting with Williams on Wednesday to discuss the extradition mechanism of Indonesian businessman Hendra Rahardja, who was handed a life sentence by the Central Jakarta District Court last month for graft. Hendra was convicted for visa violations in Australia in 2000, pending a higher court's decision. --JP