Judicial Commission to probe 130 judges soon
The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
The Judicial Commission plans to probe some 130 judges over alleged irregularities in the near future as part of its main task of supervising judges and helping put an end to corruption in the judiciary.
Commission member Chatamarrasjid Ais said on Monday that it had already obtained complete data about the judges to start its investigations, but added that the commission was still open to new information from the public over court verdicts that have been thought controversial or that might be irregular.
"If there is any new information from the public about ill- behaved judges, then the case will be resolved swiftly," Chatamarrasjid told a discussion on corruption here.
However, he added that the commission, established in August, was not authorized to annul rulings of judges.
The establishment of the seven-member commission is mandated by law as part of efforts to ensure impartiality and professionalism in the court system. The commission in fact should have been set up a year ago, however its establishment was delayed for reasons unexplained.
The commission has the authority to interrogate judges over irregularities in their verdicts, and recommend punishments that would be followed up by the Supreme Court or the Constitutional Court. Punishments will range from warning letters to dismissal.
Its first case concerned the controversial ruling of West Java High Court judges, who in August annulled the election results that gave victory to Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) candidate Nur Mahmudi Ismail in the June 26 Depok mayoral election, and instead declared Golkar Party candidate Badrul Kamal as the winner. The ruling sparked protest from PKS and the General Elections Commission in the Depok region, which has filed for a judicial review of the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Last week, the judicial commission recommended that West Java High Court chief judge Nana Juwana be suspended for one year, while the four other judges be given warning letters for their "unprofessional conduct" in determining the case. The Supreme Court has yet to decide on the recommendations.
The commission will also jointly arrange a code of conduct and ethics for judges with the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court, in order to better define violations and irregularities.
Aside from giving recommendations, the commission will also set up a database for the country's 6,000 judges in order to assess their performance.
The results of the performance assessments would be used as a basis determining promotion for judges to the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.
The nation's judicial system is known to be one of the most corrupt in the world, with bribes often being required for judges to issuing favorable rulings. The corruption is systematic and involves lawyers and professional brokers.