Court-martials set to be put under Supreme Court

JAKARTA (JP): Preliminary steps have been taken to move court- martials from the jurisdiction of the Indonesian Military to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Sarwata said here on Thursday.

Sarwata said the newly ratified law on judicial power stipulated that all of the country's judicial institutions must be put under the Supreme Court.

However, he said that according to the law this transition could take up to five years.

"It will not take place immediately because it will have to go through a number of phases.

"We will of course need to discuss this transition with the military, but district courts and state administrative courts are already in a transitional period," Sarwata said.

Sarwata was speaking after meeting with People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais.

The former law on judicial power stipulated that district courts and state administrative courts were administratively, financially and organizationally under the Ministry of Justice, while court-martials fell under the jurisdiction of the military.

Critics said this system put judges under the authority of the executive branch, impeding their independence and forcing them to align themselves with the government.

The hope is that removing court-martials from the jurisdiction of the military will ensure independence in such proceedings. Human rights activists have alleged that in the past, court- martials were used as a tool to protect the military as an institution, portraying charges against military personnel as mere procedural errors.

Separately, National Commission on Human Rights member Asmara Nababan said that the rights body would elect a new chairman next month to replace leading rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman, who was recently appointed attorney general.

Former cabinet member Emil Salim, who was also recently appointed a member of the rights body, has been rumored as a leading candidate to replace Marzuki. (02/byg)