Indonesia, Australia to cooperate on legal affairs

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Australia signed on Wednesday a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation to enhance the judicial systems in the two neighboring countries.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the cooperation would cover a broad range of legal affairs, including the administration of law and justice, human rights affairs, excise and customs, banking and financial affairs, intellectual property rights, immigration and conflict management.

"The cooperation is important because although Australia is our closest neighbor, neither of us have ever signed an agreement of cooperation in legal affairs before," Yusril was quoted by Antara as saying after signing the MOU with Australia's Attorney General Daryl Williams in Canberra.

"The advantage of this cooperation is that Indonesia can learn the latest developments in legal affairs, exchange experience and send people for training, including in the area of human rights' investigation for Indonesia's judges."

The new cooperation was following up the results of the 4th Indonesia and Australia Ministerial Meeting in Bali last year, when the two countries agreed to establish a working group on legal affairs.

Yusril said that he and Williams agreed to meet every year, starting from next year in Jakarta, to monitor the progress of the cooperation.

The MOU was signed amid the worsening diplomatic relations between the two countries following the secession of East Timor from Indonesia last year.

Meanwhile, Williams said the memorandum marked a new phase in a series of cooperation agreements and legal services between the two countries, which have intensified over the past decade.

Williams expressed optimism that the cooperation will bear fruit in spite of the fact that the two countries practice different legal systems.

Australia has recently asked Indonesia to set up immigration processing centers to help the island nation restrict the illegal entry of foreigners, mostly from the Middle East, who often pass through Indonesia.

However, Yusril said on Wednesday, that the government had turned down Australia's request.

"We will formally state this to the Australian government tomorrow (Thursday). Indonesia refuses to serve as a buffer zone for illegal immigrants heading for Australia. The job will only burden us," Yusril said.

Yusril said he would extend the refusal during a meeting with Australian Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Philip Ruddock and Minister of Justice Amanda Vanstone.

"We have been working together in many fields dealing with smuggling and extradition. So, there is no need to open any processing centers," Yusril said. (bby)