Bakin monitors courts to prevent collusion

JAKARTA (JP): The chief of the State Intelligence Coordinating Board (Bakin), Lt. Gen. Moetojib, said yesterday that his personnel were monitoring courts in an effort to eradicate collusion and corruption practices.

"The board's members have been deployed (in courts) and of course nobody knows about their activities," Moetojib said here after attending a seminar titled Toward Just and Professional Law Enforcers.

The two-day seminar was opened yesterday by Minister of Justice Muladi and attended by Chief Justice Sarwata, Attorney General Soedjono C. Atmonegoro, National Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo, representatives of non-governmental organizations and dozens of lawyers.

Moetojib, however, said that Bakin would not interfere in the judiciary's independence. He said the monitoring was only an effort to battle the rampant collusion and corruption practices in courts that have prompted some observers to describe them as a "mafia."

He admitted that now that his agency's activities were known, some parties would object to the monitoring by Bakin officers and consider it an interference.

"We must absolutely comply with the minister of justice's warning to respect the judiciary's independence," Moetojib said.

Muladi said last month the country's judiciary could build a respected and effective legal system only if it was free from intervention from the executive and legislative branches.

"Disruption of judicial independence through collusion and corruption practices must be considered a miscarriage of justice," Muladi said in a speech he wrote in his own handwriting.

He said the judicial branch must therefore be supported by certain values which included professionalism, altruism and a code of ethics.

He acknowledged the country's judiciary was still tarnished by illegal practices, committed by both individuals or people in small groups.

Those groups, he said, had the potential to alter an integrated administration of justice into an "integrated miscarriage of justice."

"The judicial system, which is still marred by disgraceful practices, has been eroding the credibility of the political system," said Muladi, who is also a member of the National Commission on Human Rights.

Muladi said the seminar was part of a long journey of a moral movement which was trying to revive the basic values of the law.

"We must be optimistic as efforts to abolish illegal practices in the courts have a strong philosophical, cultural and constitutional basis," Muladi said.

Muladi said the seminar was aimed at identifying the crime rate, policies to repress and prevent crimes and ways to improve coordination among law enforcers.

The Jakarta Police sparked controversy over its legal right to probe graft in December when officers questioned three just- dismissed directors of the central bank for alleged corruption.

At the time, former attorney general Singgih was sure that the police had invaded his jurisdiction. The police, however, fired back by saying they had the legal right to act as they did.

The police said their authority as investigators to probe any crimes was stipulated by the Criminal Code Procedures and also supported by the new National Police Law.

Muladi has said that the Ministry of Justice is committed to unifying views among various institutions on matters related to law enforcement. (byg)