Judges should be opened to criticism
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto told the country's judges yesterday that they should be open to criticism as a means to improve the fairness of their decisions.
"Criticism, whether directly uttered or reflected in the sad stares of discouraged people, should be seriously taken into consideration," Soeharto said in a keynote address at the opening ceremony of national conference of the Association of Indonesian Judges' (IKAHI) yesterday.
During the ceremony, which was also attended by Chief Justice Purwoto Gandasubrata and Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman, Soeharto stated that learning from criticism will reverse a trend towards public distrust of the law.
"People always pay attention to the verdicts given by judges because they consider the court the last resort for justice and law. Remember that you do not merely make a living by your profession," Soeharto told judges from all over Indonesia.
The President said that a judge is not responsible to his supervisor but to God and his conscience, "That's why a judge should increase his quality, capacities and professionalism," Soeharto added.
A number of judges and public attorneys are now under investigation after allegations that they received bribes from individuals on trial for tax evasion.
One of the judges was recalled to Jakarta and the Ministry of Justice canceled his appointment as head of the Medan Court.
The President said that judges should understand not only the legal codes and regulations but also the dynamics of society.
"New kinds of violations such as environmental pollution, violations of property rights, money laundering, and computer crimes are increasing," he said.
Program
Association chairman Soerjono said that the President pointed to the law in general and did not single out any particular cases, and that judges' group agreed with his remarks.
"Our program is in line with what the president has mapped out to increase the credibility of law enforcement agencies, Soerjono told reporters.
Soerjono also commented that the verdicts given by the Surabaya Court on tax evasion was fully in the hands of the judges, and that they were free to give the verdict based on their belief.
"It's not final, the prosecutor could still bring those cases to the Supreme Court," he added.
Soerjono refused to say whether the increasing number of appeals to the Supreme Court is an indication of the people's deteriorating faith in the country's legal system.
"It's just a common law procedure, and sometimes there are people who just want to waste time. But there will be no problem because the Supreme Court only examines what it considers worth looking into, he said. (02)