Chief Justice cannot use a letter to overrule: Oetojo
Chief Justice cannot use a letter to overrule: Oetojo
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said yesterday
that the Chief Justice has no authority to overrule a final
court's verdict with a memo, a practice currently on the rise.
"A letter from the Chief Justice has no legal power to nullify
any decision made by the Supreme Court," Oetojo told journalists.
After opening a three-day seminar on law enforcement, he
suggested that the Supreme Court minimize its involvement in
court prosecutions.
"The Chief Justice should not use his "powerful" memos to
intervene with a court decision. He has the authority to offer
guidance only in critical cases," he said.
He cited as an exception a handful of land disputes where the
court's final decision could not be executed because of natural
changes in land boundaries, caused, for example, by natural
disasters.
The Supreme Court has been under fire since reversing a
decision last month to award an Irianese man Rp 18.6 billion
(about US$8.5 million) in compensation, won in a land dispute
with the local government.
Chief Justice Soerjono reportedly sent a letter to the
district court of Jayapura, Irian Jaya, negating the Supreme
Court's verdict in favor of plaintiff Hanoch Hebe Ohee.
The dispute over the 62-hectare plot of communal land, located
about 30 kilometers from Sentani Airport, began in 1984 when Ohee
sought to regain the property controlled by the Irian government.
He won the legal battle at the district court level in July
1985. After losing their appeal to the high court, the provincial
government appealed to the Supreme Court in 1988 and lost again.
Oetojo said despite having the authority to give instructions
and guidance to lower courts, as stipulated in article 32 of the
Law No. 14/1985 on the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court should
not rigidly stick to formal law principles but also consider the
public's sense of justice.
"The Supreme Court can make an ideal decision if it takes both
into consideration," Oetojo argued.
According to the minister, the Chief Justice should openly
discuss the content of any letter he addresses to lower court
officials with his deputies to make sure that it is not a
"personal letter."
To minimize controversy, he said, the Chief Justice should
give advice to, and not interfere with, lower court officials
before they make decisions.
Oetojo said that to ensure its independence, the Supreme Court
should be left alone and not supervised by another institution,
as has been suggested.
"Nowhere in this world is a judiciary institution required to
answer to another institution," he said.
Meanwhile, Mulyana W. Kusumah, executive director of the
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, said that the House of
Representatives could supervise the Supreme Court by submitting
its judgment to the President.
"The Chief Justice and senior judges are formally installed by
the President upon the House's recommendation," he said.
Oetojo brushed aside suggestions that the Supreme Court
conduct its cases of public interest openly so that citizens can
follow the debates. (imn)