House seeks single association, one code of ethics for lawyers
House seeks single association, one code of ethics for lawyers
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Legislators are seeking to establish a single bar association for
Indonesian lawyers in the advocate bill currently under
deliberation at the House of Representatives.
With only one bar association, the lawmakers said, the
advocate code of ethics, as well as punishment for lawyers
committing professional crimes, would be enforced effectively.
"Under the present situation where there are many advocate
associations, many lawyers can commit professional crimes freely,
without fear of being disbarred, as they can move from one
association to another to escape penalization," Muhammad Akil
Mochtar of Golkar Party told the Jakarta Post on Monday.
At present, there are several advocate associations in the
country, including the Indonesian Advocate Association (AAI), the
Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin), and the Indonesian Legal
Advisor Association (IPHI). Each association possesses its own
code of ethics.
The advocate bill does not mention the establishment of a
single lawyers' association, but legislators said Monday that
they would pursue the proposal.
Legislators Tumbu Saraswati of the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) agreed with Akil, but said that
there must be a platform to unite the extant lawyers'
associations.
"We need such a platform, particularly to uphold the
professional code of ethics and to penalize lawyers who commit
violations," she said.
"At present, lawyers can offer bribes arbitrarily, but if they
are caught, they won't face any professional penalties and will
be able to continue in their profession."
Akil said the bill would also oblige lawyers to provide legal
counsel on a pro bono basis to people in litigation who could not
afford a lawyer.
However, the detailed mechanism would be regulated under a
government regulation, he said.
"We agree that lawyers should provide free legal counsel, but
the obligation would burden lawyers if they receive excessive
demands for free counsel.
"Therefore, there must be a condition to avoid this scenario,
for example, by distributing pro bono cases equally among all
lawyers operating in the country," he said.
The bill also stipulates that while lawyers from foreign
countries may work at local law firms, international law firms
are not allowed to open representative offices in Indonesia.
Akil also said the advocate bill would not allow public
officials, including legislators and government officials, to
practice as lawyers during their tenure.
"The article (Article 19) that bans public officials from
practicing as advocates has been approved. It is fair to impose
it," he added, and said that the ban had eliminated the previous
dynamic debates that demanded legislators be allowed to practice
as lawyers.
He said the House had almost completed deliberating the bill,
as about 24 out of 35 articles had already been approved.
"We are optimistic that deliberations will finish by Feb. 25,
when we expect to endorse the bill," he said.
The legislators must still debate on the remaining articles,
among which are articles on requirements for foreign advocates
operating in Indonesia, and on Islamic Law.