Judges told to accept regional posts or quit

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Judges who refuse assignments to remote or conflict-prone regions had better quit their jobs rather than deny the administration of justice at those locations, Chief Justice Bagir Manan said on Wednesday.

He said the unequal distribution of judges meant that some regions had a huge backlog of cases while other judges had too much leisure time on their hands.

"No longer is it considered appropriate for a judge to delay going to the place he has been assigned to," Bagir told participants at a workshop on managing court resources organized by the Supreme Court and the Court Independence Advocacy Institute (LeIP).

Speaking in his opening remarks, Bagir said he had begun receiving requests from judges in less-developed regions asking him to allow them to try cases without the presence of a panel of judges because there were simply not enough of them available.

After being assigned to another region, judges have three months for preparation and to settle ongoing cases. In practice, though, it may take up to six months before they actually leave.

"If a judge hasn't left after three months, he should either go then or else resign," Bagir said.

His warning rang particularly true in the troubled provinces of Maluku and Aceh, where law enforcement was seen to have deteriorated amid a shortage of court officials.

Sectarian clashes in Maluku and rebel fighting in Aceh caused many judges, prosecutors and court clerks to flee the two strife- torn provinces.

For example, the number of judges in the Maluku capital, Ambon, fell to three, early last year, from 10 before the conflict erupted in 1999, according to deputy chief F. Takaria.

In Aceh, several suspected criminals were released due to a shortage of judges at a number of the district courts.

In one instance, the district court of the North Aceh capital, Lhokseumawe, had to release a suspected criminal last year as it had only one judge who, without a panel of judges, could not try crimes.

Warring sides in both provinces signed peace deals last year, reducing the level of violence and raising hopes of the reestablishment of law and order.

With the security situation gradually improving, the government has begun sending judges back to Maluku. But nearly a year after the announcement of its plans, many of the local courts remain poorly staffed.

Restoration of law enforcement, however, forms part of the Maluku peace agreement, which was signed between the warring Muslim and Christian communities in February last year. Currently, amid a shortage of judges and prosecutors, authorities must prosecute those who violate the law, in order to deter fresh violence, which had already claimed some 6,000 lives.

"It's therefore time to reconsider the policy of evaluating transfer assignments for judges," Bagir said.

He said the policy should be scrapped as it allowed judges to avoid assignments and be sent to more favorable posts.