Backlogged legal cases

Backlogged legal cases

It was baffling to read the report in The Jakarta Post on
March 4 about the backlog of cases in the Supreme Court. If it is
true that the number of unsettled cases has reached 16,000, this
must be deplored as a disgraceful occurrence.

To be sure, this should bring discredit on the one hand to the
Supreme Court, as the highest judicial body in the land, and on
the other hand to the professional awareness of justices with
respect to the sublime function of the court to develop the
nation's jurisprudence by virtue of the accumulation of a string
of verdicts.

In retrospect, one may imagine the futility or ineffectiveness
of the backlogged cases, featuring as just stacks of thick
dossiers that fill shelves, or perhaps are just piled up on the
floor.

The implications of this matter can hardly be denied. First,
the potential of enriching or replenishing the body of judge-made
law, comprising the invaluable variety of ramifications of
jurisprudence mirroring the current legal phenomena occurring in
society, is put in jeopardy.

Second, the delay in settling cases in the Supreme Court bears
heavily on the burden of cost incurred by litigants.

It must be remembered that Article 4 of Law No. 14/1970 on the
basic provisions of judicial power sets forth that judicial
proceedings shall be carried out simplistically, swiftly and at a
low cost.

Third, the oath taken by the justices refers to the duty of
the justices to adjudicate in an honest and efficient manner in
enforcing the law and upholding justice.

Certainly, to alleviate the hardships of poor litigants, in
face of the high cost of litigation throughout three levels of
courts, such a huge lot of backlog cases should soon be
discarded.

S. SUHAEDI

Jakarta