Justices examine appeals' dossiers

Justices examine appeals' dossiers

JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court will give priority to appeals
sought by lawyers of former president Soeharto, his fugitive son
Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra and former East Timor militia leader
Eurico Guterres.

"We expect to issue rulings on the three cases as soon as
possible because they have drawn the attention of the public,"
new Deputy Chief Justice Taufiq told The Jakarta Post on
Thursday.

He said the panel of justices named for the Soeharto and Tommy
appeals are now examining dossiers of the cases, while selection
of justices to hear Eurico's appeal is still underway.

"The dossiers of both Soeharto's and Tommy's appeals have been
circulated to the justices since Jan. 2," Taufiq said.

Taufiq could not say when the justices would rule on the
appeals because "there is no regulation on that."

Empirically, it could take the Supreme Court months or even
years to issue a ruling on an appeal either sought by a defendant
or the Attorney General's Office. The court overturned two lower
courts rulings that exonerated Tommy and his business associate
Ricardo Gelael late in September, 11 months after the Attorney
General's Office filed the appeal.

Taufiq said first of all each member of the panel of justices
would study the dossier, with the presiding justice the last to
read it. The panel would then meet to share their opinions before
issuing a ruling.

Justice M. Syaifuddin Kartasasmita has been named the
presiding justice to hear an appeal against a High Court ruling
to reopen the multi-million dollar graft case involving Soeharto.
The panel also comprises Sunuwahadi and Artidjo Alkausar.

Taufiq will preside over Tommy's appeal of the Supreme Court
ruling, along with panel members Suharto, who is Supreme Court
chief of written civil cases, and German Budiarto, Supreme Court
chief of military cases.

Taufiq said the Supreme Court was preparing a panel of
justices who will hear an appeal filed by the National Police
against a lower court pretrial ruling which ordered the police to
release Eurico from unlawful arrest.

Eurico, who is facing trial for inciting others to commit
crimes, had filed for a pretrial hearing calling into question
the circumstances of his arrest on Oct. 4 at a hotel in Jakarta.
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