Corrupt legal system blocks justice for all

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): Spouses who want a divorce not only have to face the sorrow of a family breakup, but also must deal with Indonesia's often corrupt legal system.

Susi (not her real name) felt trapped in her unhappy marriage and wanted a divorce. However, her husband refused to grant her the divorce, so she took the case to court and lost.

The mother of a five-year-old son said that during the legal proceeding the judges hearing the case asked her for money. She said she refused because she was sure she would win the case.

When the judges ruled against her, she appealed to the high court in Jakarta. She said the judge who handled the case also asked her for a bribe.

"My lawyer said the judge asked for Rp 10 million but he wanted to meet me personally," Susi, 32, told The Jakarta Post.

So Susi met with the judge and made a deal. "I said I could only give him Rp 5 million, but he said that in one case he received Rp 10 million and in another case Rp 25 million." She asked for more time and left with the judge's home phone number.

Later on the phone, after tough negotiations, the judge agreed to accept Rp 7.5 million.

"I was mentally and physically tired. Even though my lawyer told me that legally we were in a favorable position to win the case, I gave up," said Susi, a university graduate who works part-time at a private company. Earlier this year, she delivered the cash to the judge's house and a month later she received a copy of his ruling in her favor.

Susi could not prove that she bribed the judge because there were no eyewitnesses and no receipt, but similar stories are told by many other people who have dealt with the courts. This "court mafia" is like a virus which has spread over the entire judicial system, from the district courts to the Supreme Court. It also is seen among court clerks and couriers, who ask for money for their services.

Supreme Court Justice Paulus Effendi Lotulung admitted the country's legal system was bad.

"I am as annoyed as you are," he told the Post. "I myself feel quite ashamed. Corruption is everywhere, not only in the judicial bodies, but also executive bodies and even in universities," Lotulung, who teaches at the University of Indonesia in Depok and Pakuan University in Bogor, said.

Transparency International surveyed 85 countries last year and named Indonesia as the fifth most corrupt. Two weeks ago, it announced that a survey of 100 countries revealed that Indonesia was now the third most corrupt after Cameron and Nigeria.

Small salaries are the main excuse for the rampant corruption among civil servants. A few months ago the government significantly increased judges' salaries.

Lotulung said that a judge with five or six years of experience now made between Rp 2 million and Rp 2.5 million a month. The chief judge of the court of appeals receives about Rp 5 million a month, he said. "In 1994, when I was the deputy chief of the Jakarta Administrative Court, my take-home pay was only Rp 1.2 million."

Judges are provided with official houses and every month they receive 100 kilograms of rice, 50 kilograms of sugar, cooking oil, soap and other basic necessities.

The House of Representatives amended Law No. 14/1970 on Basic Judicial Power in July. Under the amended law, the Supreme Court will gradually take over the organizational, financial and administrative affairs of the judiciary from the Ministry of Justice.

"That is a good step, which must be followed by amending other laws on the judiciary. But what we need now is concrete action," Lotulung said.

He suggested the establishment of an honorary council to watch over the Supreme Court, which is alleged to be tainted with corruption as well. He said the council could comprise university officials, lawyers, public figures and former judges.

A quick solution was proposed late last month by a political law expert from the University of Washington, Daniel S. Lev. He suggested that the government speed up the retirement of all Supreme Court justices. Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra has said the government would amend the current law which puts the retirement age for justices at 65.

However, the chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, Hendardi, believes replacing the justices will not solve the problem because the corruption has much to do with legal and political systems which breed immorality.

"To uphold the supremacy of law, the whole system that supports the growth of corruption, collusion and nepotism must be changed," he said.

This will take a long time but the government must work hard to speed up the process, he said. "If there are laws which need amending, this should not be used as an excuse to hamper legal reform."

In the meantime, Lotulung is encouraging the public to speak up about corruption in the judiciary.

"Don't stop criticizing us. Don't just grumble behind our backs; point out the corrupt judges. We need social control, media control, even international control."

Three years ago, deputy chief justice Adi Andojo Soetjipto caused widespread controversy when he revealed bribery and collusion in the Supreme Court. As a result, then chief justice Soerjono and several justices, including Sarwata, the current Chief Justice, proposed that then president Soeharto dismiss Adi. Soeharto denied the request and the issue of bribery and collusion in the Supreme Court was never properly probed. Adi stepped down from his position in 1997 when he reached the retirement age of 65.