Jakarta judges moved around in major government shift

JAKARTA (JP): The government is making a sweep of judges in Jakarta by reassigning up to two-thirds of judges in the capital to other courts outside the island of Java.

The massive reshuffle is set to affect 50 to 60 percent of judges throughout Jakarta, including all the chiefs and deputies in the capital's five district courts.

Stopping short of describing it as a major revamp of the courts, Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Wednesday that the move was the start of major reform in the country's judicial system.

Yusril would not say when the first of the reassignments would occur but pledged that the massive rotations would start in a matter of weeks.

Since the advent of the reform era, the judicial system has been one of the most highlighted areas needed for reform.

Yusril admitted on Wednesday that the mass rotations were in part taken amid strong public pressure and criticism over numerous court rulings.

"Some critics might say that such a measure is useless as the judges are not the only ones to blame, but rather it is the system which has been corrupt all this time," he said.

Yusril defended the move saying that the reassignment of judges and replacement of court executives outside Java were part of long-term measures carried out by his office and the Supreme Court to better the quality of judges and various court rulings.

Yusril also pointed out that deputies in the Central Jakarta and East Jakarta courts would remain an additional three months in their current postings to allow them to tutor their replacements.

He reasoned that the courts there often presided over a greater assortment of extremely complex cases which intertwined with criminal and civil jurisdictional lines.

Commenting on the deputy head of the South Jakarta District Court, JMT Simatupang, Yusril said that he would not be reassigned until a thorough investigation was completed into allegations that he misused his authority.

Speaking about the judges that would be assigned to Jakarta, Yusril said the government had set a maximum age limit of 40 years.

"The younger they are, the better they perform," remarked the 44-year-old minister.

He further claimed that in the future his office would allow independent watchdogs to oversee the performance of the new judges in Jakarta.

It is expected that the mass rotation will be the first in several personnel changes which could effect courts in major cities across the country.

He also said that his office and the Supreme Court would soon submit a candidacy list of 10 ad hoc judges for a new commercial court which would need the approval of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

The ad hoc judges are due to be officially installed on April 30. (01)