Bagir gives go-ahead for int'l arbitration
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite claiming to do his best to restore the image of the country's judges, Supreme Court head Bagir Manan said on Tuesday that he would not prevent foreign investors from taking disputes with their domestic partners to international courts.
"If any parties -- either foreign or local businesspeople -- are involved in a dispute, we shall leave it to them as to whether they wish to take the case to our courts or to international arbitration for settlement," he told The Jakarta Post after briefing prospective judges at the Supreme Court.
Bagir denied that the move by foreign investors to frequently settle their disputes with their Indonesian partners through international tribunals was due to the poor performance of the country's judicial system.
"It has nothing to do with their lack of trust in our national courts," he said, responding to some recent cases in which foreign businesspeople preferred to take their disputes overseas rather than settle them at home.
The controversial case of PT Manulife Asuransi Jiwa Indonesia was one of the examples, and it had tarnished the country's legal system due to its failure to protect foreign investment.
Then president Abdurrahman Wahid ordered the Attorney General's Office to halt the investigation into the case against the major Canadian insurance company, arguing that not only did the dispute damage Indonesian relations with foreign creditors, but also threatened the national interest.
Bagir also rejected the condition set by donors from the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) for Jakarta to swiftly reform the country's corrupt judiciary in order that some US$3.14 billion in loans and US$586 in grants could be disbursed.
"If the CGI urges us to do it within two days ... it's just not possible," he said.
Pledging to disburse the loans, the creditors urged Indonesia to accelerate its judicial reforms, including creating a comprehensive reform strategy with clear milestones to establish the rule of law and reduce corruption in the courts.
The CGI emphasized that many foreign investors had lost their trust in Indonesian courts due to massive corruption here.
Bagir said the Supreme Court had been trying to improve the courts' performance, including the recruitment process for new judges. He claimed it would take time to implement the reforms.
The demanded reforms were inevitable as the country did not want to dissolve the courts, he added.
"I don't mind if the CGI has accused all judges here of practicing corruption because I can still find several good judges in the courts," Bagir said.
"Not all court verdicts have been condemned by the people. Only those dissatisfied with certain verdicts have lodged protests."
When asked about the fact that many court verdicts in politically charged cases had often ignored the public's sense of justice, Bagir simply said, "What people do you mean? Many people can easily claim that they represent public opinion."