Judges nod off during trials

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Just like the blind Greek Goddess of Justice, many judges here close their eyes during court hearings. But this is not part of an effort to improve objectivity but rather is due to the fact that they are asleep.

This was discovered by students from the University of Indonesia Law School during a group field study project on the Indonesian judiciary (MaPPI-FHUI), which has been underway since October.

In the South Jakarta District Court alone, the researchers observed the presiding judges in at least nine different cases while they slept during the trial. In another five cases, the judges talked on their cellular phones during court proceedings.

"We have listed 52 judges who were found to have been guilty of various types of misconduct, and will report this to the Supreme Court in the near future," the group's executive director, Asep Rahmat Fajar, told The Jakarta Post last week.

The study in November uncovered judicial misconduct and procedural violations at the district courts of Central Jakarta, South Jakarta and Cibinong, Bogor.

Unlike in such television programs like LA Law or Ally McBeal, in which the courts are characterized by heated arguments and moving statements from lawyers and prosecutors, the local courts are often boring. The civil law system Indonesia inherited from the Netherlands lacks juries and dynamic debate. The reading presentation of sentencing recommendations by prosecutors can take hours, depending on the charges and the evidence.

For example, the reading of the judgment on Akbar Tandjung, the former minister/cabinet secretary and current House of Representatives' speaker, who the court found guilty of corruption, took 10 hours. The five members of the panel of judges took turns sleeping throughout the session.

The researchers also found irregularities during hearings that could prejudice the legal rights of witnesses and those seeking justice.

Of 56 cases heard by the Cibinong District Court in November, 11 started without the presiding judges asking whether the defendants were represented by lawyers. In three other cases, the judges ignored the proper procedures by not asking the defendants to respond to the prosecution indictments.

Many other irregularities were recorded in the three district courts, ranging from the judges' failure to declare the hearing open to the public to failing to ask the defendant whether he or she wanted to file an appeal.

The study started October and the results are being published monthly.

According to Asep, the publication of the researchers' findings obviously irked the judges. They often questioned the presence of the researchers in their courtrooms and reprimanded them for "tainting the image of the judiciary."

But judge Andi Samsan Nganro, who is also spokesman of the Central Jakarta District Court, told the Post Tuesday that he supported the study, which could help the court chief to make an evaluation of what happened in the courtroom.

Commenting on the findings, he said: "It is human for judges to be sleepy during hearings, but to sleep is not right."

"And we also agree that judges have to keep focused and not get distracted with their cellular phones," said Andi, who himself often sends messages via his phone while at a hearing.

But he said he doubted a part of the report, which said that several judges failed to open hearings with correct procedures. "Maybe the researchers missed it."