House endorses judicial laws revisions
House endorses judicial laws revisions
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives put the organization and
administration of judicial institutions under the Supreme Court
on Monday, ending the control over the judicial system by the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
The transfer was made when lawmakers endorsed two bills
revising the laws on public courts and state administrative
courts.
The endorsement of the bills is hoped will bring about an
independent judicial system in the country.
In a speech, Minister of Justice and Human Right Yusril Ihza
Mahendra said the two bills would serve as the legal basis for
the creation of an independent judicial system.
"We will create a judicial system that is free from
extrajudicial interference and corruption," he said during a
House plenary meeting.
The revisions to the laws move the organization and
administration of judicial affairs to the Supreme Court.
Despite the importance of the plenary session, which was
presided over by House Deputy Speaker A.M. Fatwa of the National
Mandate Party (PAN), relatively few legislators attended.
During the meeting, Fatwa repeatedly called on faction
chairpersons to invite their members to attend. By 11 a.m. just
220 of the ..... legislators in the House had signed the
attendance sheet.
Fatwa said that by 11:30 a.m. that number had grown to 252
legislators, though only about 90 legislators actually appeared
in the meeting room.
He said this poor attendance was understandable given the
packed schedules of legislators.
The chairman of the House's Legislation Body, Zain Badjeber,
said that under the revised laws, the Supreme Court would have
authority in the improvement of the judicial, administrative and
financial affairs of the courts.
The Supreme Court also will have the responsibility in the
supervision of judges, he said.
According to Zain, legislators were able to reach a consensus
only after serious discussion of the requirements to become a
judge.
According to the revised laws, candidates to become judges
must be at least 25 years old and have served as civil servants.
Judges can be appointed by the heads of district courts only
after they have 10 years experience.
During the plenary meeting, spokespersons for all the factions
expressed hope for the creation of an independent judicial
system.
Mangara Tunggal Lumban Tobing of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said the country's judicial system had
lost the trust of the public.
M. Akil Mochtar from Golkar added that the revisions to the
two laws would be effective only if they were implemented by
professional and qualified judges.
He said there must be a better recruitment system to produce
qualified and professional judges.
Some of the revisions to the public courts law
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- Article 13 (1): Promotion and supervision of judges will be
done by head of the Supreme Court.
- Article 13 (2): Promotion and supervision of judges must not
affect the independence of the judges in carrying out their
duties.
- Article 15 (2): Judges at high courts must have at least five
years experiences before being appointed chief judges, or three
years to become chief of a district court.
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Source: Public courts bill