Increase in salary for judges widely welcomed
By Imanuddin
JAKARTA (JP): The government's decision to raise the salaries of court judges has been widely welcomed by many in the legal community who say that this will go a long way towards enhancing their independence, integrity and impartiality.
The government announced last week that the salary of judges would be increased as of Jan. 1. The judges are technically under the payroll of the government and their salary scale is similar to other members of the civil service. Other members of the civil service are not slated for a raise in the near future.
The new special salary scale for judges is the legacy of Purwoto S. Gandasubrata, chief justice for over two years, before his replacement by Justice Soerjono.
The judicial profession has been tainted by repeated allegations that some court judges could be bought. These allegations have never been proven.
The salary increase, decreed by President Soeharto, was announced on Tuesday only a day after Purwoto, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 last month, stepped down.
Prominent legal experts like Satjipto Rahardjo, Trimoelja D. Soerjadi, and Soesanto Bangoennagoro, said on Saturday they fully supported the presidential decision.
Satjipto, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, said that it was no secret that members of the Indonesian civil service, including the judges, are among the lowest paid workers.
Under such a situation, it would be tempting for judges to lose their impartiality in return for financial gains, he said.
"The salary increase is quite a rational solution to the matter," he told The Jakarta Post.
Trimoelja, chairman of the Surabaya chapter of the Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin) who has handled a number of controversial, or politically charged cases, in the past, said he hoped the salary hikes would lead to fairer decisions by the court.
Soesanto, a legislator of the Golkar Faction at the House of Representatives, said the raise proves that the nation cares about the prosperity of its judges.
He considered the move bold because other members of the civil service will not get a salary hike at this time.
He said he hoped the judges will repay this gesture by strengthening their dedication to their profession.
Satjipto, who also lectures at the School of Law of the Diponegoro University in Semarang, cautioned that the salary increase might not be sufficient to attract the best legal practitioners or young law graduates to the profession.
He said the judges' salary must at least be higher than the average salary of fixed income earners in Indonesian.
"We can't expect judges to be independent and fair if their salaries are still below those of most other Indonesians," he said. "Sadly, the best law graduates shun a career in court in preference for working as corporate lawyers, or opening private practices, where the income is better."
Trimoelja and Soesanto, however, said they think the newly revamped pay scale is sufficiently fair.
Starting salary
Under the new scale, the starting salary of a judge with qualifications equivalent to Category IIIa of the civil service is Rp 300,400 ($143) a month. A judge in category IIId with 10 years of service earns Rp 487,200. A judge in category IVe (the highest echelon in the civil service) with six years of service earns Rp 529,200. At the top scale, the salary of a IVe judge with 32 years of service is Rp 1,075,200.
The three legal experts also said that raising salaries is not the only way to guarantee a fair and independent court decision.
Trimoelja said the hikes mean nothing to corrupt judges.
There must be closer supervision of the judges' performance by their immediate superiors, he said.
Soesanto said the public must take a share in the blame for corrupt judges because many view that justice can be bought.
Both Soesanto and Satjipto said the Supreme Court must also not hesitate to exact heavy punishment against corrupt judges and must not try to cover up any allegations of malpractice.