Corrupt legal system blocks justice for all

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.