Foreign lawyers in RI to be regulated
Foreign lawyers in RI to be regulated
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Legislators have agreed to apply a restrictive regulation on
foreign lawyers operating in the country, under a nearly approved
bill on advocate profession.
Legislator Dwi Ria Latifa of the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle said that, under the proposed law, foreign lawyers
who aim to operate in the country must obtain a license from the
government on the recommendation of a government-sanctioned bar
association.
"At present, they (foreign lawyers) work for local law firms
or foreign companies, but determine their own fees for their
services. This practice is very difficult to monitor.
"I think it's better to require foreign lawyers already
operating here, as well as those who plan to operate here, to
apply for a license from the government," Dwi Ria told The
Jakarta Post recently.
She said the bill aimed to protect the interests of local
lawyers in the face of tighter competition as a result of
liberalized trade.
"Many lawyers have supported the restrictive bill, although
others disagreed for fear of hampering the liberalization of
trade and services," she said.
While any parties expect the advocate profession bill to help
uphold justice, legislators failed to endorse the bill several
times last year.
The bill, which comprises several crucial issues, including
the regulation of foreign lawyers, the establishment of a single
advocate organization, and the prohibition of government
officials to work as lawyers while they hold office, is expected
to be endorsed this month.
Legislator M. Akil Mochtar of the Golkar Party and lawyer
Agust. Takabobir of the Indonesian Advocate Association (AAI)
concurred with Dwi Ria.
"The operations of foreign lawyers in Indonesia are currently
uncontrolled and beyond the reach of the advocate profession's
code of ethics. This compromising situation must be changed under
a new law," Akil said.
He also said that foreign lawyers would be also banned from
working on litigation cases.
"It's normal to restrict their involvement in court cases, as
court systems around the world are all different from one
another," he said.
"Besides, litigation is not really an interesting field for
foreign lawyers," he added.
Akil also said that under a reciprocity principle, if
Indonesia allowed foreign lawyers to operate here, the foreign
lawyers' countries of origin must also allow Indonesian lawyers
to operate in those countries.
"However, the situation is not so simple, because our lawyers
lack international experience, as well as financial support," he
said.
Meanwhile, Takabobir said he supported the plan to regulate
foreign lawyers, as it would help strengthen the bar
association's role in recommending and monitoring foreign lawyers
operating in Indonesia.
"There will be a significant change from the current
situation, wherein foreign lawyers are practically free from all
monitoring," he said.