Harsh action against errant judges sought

Harsh action against errant judges sought

JAKARTA (JP): Legal experts have called on the government to
take strict measures against judges whose verdicts spark
controversy, instead of just giving them administrative
sanctions.

National Law Commission member Frans Hendra Winarta and Todung
Mulya Lubis from the Judicial Watch Indonesia both said that the
minister of justice and human rights should suspend errant judges
until their cases were settled thoroughly. They also asserted
that the minister should publicize such cases.

"We have to be fierce when handling corruption cases," he said
on Friday, referring to judges suspected of taking bribes.

Earlier this week, Minister of Justice and Human Rights
Baharuddin Lopa announced that he had given administrative
sanctions to 12 judges who had abused their authority.

Five of the judges were transferred to other posts and were
stripped of their authority to hand down verdicts.

Frans told The Jakarta Post by telephone that it was about
time the government strictly punished errant judges in an effort
to eradicate rampant corruption.

He said that a consensus to combat corruption among all
members in the administration of justice was the first thing to
do to foster an intolerance of corruption.

Without such an effort, he said, corruption cannot really be
eliminated.

Frans said he was still optimistic that the government could
eradicate corruption, as long as it assigned clean judges to
handle corruption cases.

Meanwhile, Todung said that minister Lopa should consult the
Supreme Court immediately to tighten supervision of judges in all
courts in the country.

Todung, who is a lawyer, viewed that there were many lawyers
who played roles in collusion between judges and defendants,
making it more difficult to eradicate corruption.

Therefore, he suggested that the minister cooperate with the
Supreme Court to form an ad hoc team to probe controversial court
verdicts.

Contacted separately, Benyamin Mangkoedilaga, a Supreme Court
justice, indicated that not just judges, but also police officers
and prosecutors were often involved in bribery while handling a
case. The government should take measures against them as well,
he said.

He said he supported any effort to eliminate corruption
involving judges, as long as the move did not violate any rules.

He criticized Lopa, who passed administrative sanctions on the
12 judges before consulting the Judges Honor Board.

"It was a wrong move," said Benyamin, who was nominated by
President Abdurrahman Wahid as a candidate for chief justice.

In contrast to Benyamin, Frans said the Judges Honor Board had
nothing to do with the matter because corruption in the courts
was a crime.

He said the board was only authorized to handle ethical
violations by judges.

In Bandung, a judge said in the 13th congress of the
Association of Indonesian Judges (Ikahi) that the government
should raise the salary of a district court judge to Rp 15
million per month, a high court judge to Rp 25 million per month
and a Supreme Court judge to Rp 40 million. The congress agreed
that the salaries should be increased, but did not recommend a
figure. Judges are currently paid between Rp 3 million and Rp 12
million. (04/25)