Lawyers call for stronger bar association
Lawyers call for stronger bar association
JAKARTA (JP): Prominent legal experts are calling for a
unified bar association to complement the government's efforts to
improve law enforcement.
Prof. Loebby Loqman of the University of Indonesia's Law
School, and Todung Mulya Lubis, a corporate lawyer and noted
human rights campaigner, said in a two-day seminar on legal
development which concluded Wednesday that bar associations and
professional defense lawyers are the key to good law enforcement.
"The bar association, lawyers and legal consultants constitute
a major component of law enforcement. They are needed to improve
people's awareness of not only their rights but also of their
obligations," he said on Wednesday.
The Indonesian Bar Association, currently chaired by veteran
lawyer Haryono Tjitrosoebono, has for some time been criticized
as sluggish and less-than-professional.
Lubis concurred, pointing out that enforcing the laws is not
the task of police, judges and prosecutors alone. A stronger bar
association and more professional lawyers are also needed in the
campaign, he said.
"If the bar association's role can't be improved and unified,
and if we had no professional lawyers and legal consultants,
we'll stay shackled to outdated laws established during the Dutch
colonial time," he said. He did not elaborate.
The two-day seminar was organized by the National Police and
aimed at obtaining the law experts' input on how legal
development in the next seventh Five-Year Development Plan period
should be pursued.
Lubis suggested that one of the first tasks that legal circles
should undertake is reviewing outdated laws, creating
professional law enforcers, and providing legal facilities to
support law enforcement.
Lubis also said that a major obstruction to enforcing the laws
lies with the law enforcers, not only the laws.
"The law enforcers should take some actions, for instance
improving their skills, to anticipate the onslaught of
sophisticated crimes," he said.
Loqman said the police should not only have a broad knowledge
and be conversant with legal matters, as well as professional in
their job.
"In our judicial system, the police's knowledge of laws is a
must. They have to be skilled in classifying cases and collecting
data to support their investigations," he said.
In addition, law enforcers should listen to their conscience
and maintain their professional ethics, he said. (rms)