Indonesia, Australia to cooperate on legal affairs
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)