Bagir: Court determined to win public trust

Bagir: Court determined to win public trust

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Supreme Court said in its 2004 annual report that it was
still struggling to restore public trust in the country's weak
judicial system, a core part of the reform drive launched in
2003.

Chief Justice Bagir Manan said that one of the top priorities
for the court reform program was "to win back the public trust by
disciplining judges who commit violations."

Speaking at a launching ceremony on Thursday for the annual
report, Bagir explained that among the obstacles to speeding up
the reform program was a lack of personnel to monitor judges and
limited government funds.

The monitoring and supervision unit of the Supreme Court,
which was established in June 2003, has obtained 386 complaints
involving alleged violations by judges and court clerks, he said.

Bagir said that most of the complaints were either still being
verified or investigated because of a lack of staff in the
monitoring unit, which currently only has 30 staff members to
oversee some 5,000 judges, 10,000 court clerks and 10,000
bailiffs/process servers across the country.

He said that the Supreme Court have dismissed one judge and
one court clerk, and had imposed other forms of punishment on
those found guilty of violating court rules and ethics.

Bagir also complained about a lack of government funds to
finance the reform program.

While the Supreme Court needed some Rp 5 trillion (US$537.63
million) for its annual operations and to finance the reform
program, the government only provided 20 percent of this figure
last year.

"Sufficient funding is essential to prevent judges, court
clerks and court officials from becoming involved in violations,"
he said.

But despite the problems, the Supreme Court would press ahead
with the reform program. Bagir did not provide any details of the
programs involved.

"Our targets are to improve public trust in the judiciary,
boost anticorruption efforts and improve our services to the
public," Bagir said.

Many people, including foreign investors, have long complained
about the country's weak and corrupt court system. Experts have
said that establishing a clean and credible judicial system is
crucial to helping attract badly needed investment to the
country.

The Supreme Court unveiled its annual report to the public for
the first time on Thursday. From 2001 to 2004, it presented its
annual report to the annual session of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR). Before 2001, it had no obligation to prepare an
accountability report.

Bagir said that the publication of the annual report was part
of the effort to create transparency.

"The aim of presenting the Supreme Court's annual
accountability report to the public is to enable legal observers
and stakeholders to monitor the performance of the judiciary and to
provide input for the sake of the independence of the judiciary,"
he told the ceremony.

He said that in the future, the Supreme Court would present
its annual accountability report to the public every March 31,
which marked the anniversary of the rolling out of the "one roof"
judicial system in the country."