Lawyers' code of ethics not morally binding: Expert

JAKARTA (JP): Many lawyers violate the professional code of ethics as the rules are not morally binding while the existing supervisory bodies do not work, a legal expert said on Wednesday.

Harkristuti Harkrisnowo from the University of Indonesia, was of the opinion that there had yet to be any rules that were morally, let alone legally, binding on lawyers. Also, there was no one particular bar association which could ensure that its members complied with its code of ethics.

"There should be a bar association in this country to formulate a code of ethics for all lawyers, to control unscrupulous lawyers, and to screen and issue licenses to lawyers," she told The Jakarta Post by phone.

"There are many lawyers' associations here, with each having their own disciplinary boards. But, usually, the other members tolerate their unscrupulous colleagues. These associations should establish an internal mechanism which would be binding on all lawyers."

Recently, many have criticized the lawyers of former president Soeharto and his family, arguing that the lawyers have exceeded their authority in representing their clients.

Juan Felix Tampubolon, lawyer of Soeharto's daughter-in-law Ardhia Pramesti Rigita Cahyani, or Tata, has been named as a suspect by the police for obstructing the force in its hunt for Tata's husband, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.

He was accused of lying to the police and concealing the existence of a bunker in Tommy's house on Jl. Cendana No. 12, Central Jakarta.

Tommy's lawyers Nudirman Munir and Elza Syarief have also been criticized for their decision to keep on representing Tommy, who was sentenced for corruption in November, even though he has gone on the run and not been found.

In an effort to regulate delinquent lawyers, three major bar associations -- the Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin), the Indonesian Advocates' Association (AAI) and the Association of Legal Consultants have issued a joint code of ethics. But a researcher from the Center for Indonesian Legal Policy Studies, Binziad Kadafi, said that the code merely concerned the procedures for dealing with and defending a client.

"The code is inadequate to embrace the rapid developments occurring in the profession and will not be effective in controlling members," he said.

By comparison, the U.S. bar association even regulates issues like intimate relations between lawyers and clients, he added.

Separately, Ikadin chairman, Sudjono, said that the police should first submit a complaint to the association regarding the behavior of one of its members before accusing the lawyer of having committed a crime.

"The disciplinary board will judge whether a member is lying to protect his client. And the lawyer cannot get out of this as the code of ethics sets out distinct limits on how far the lawyer should go," he said.

A former AAI chairman, Yan Apul Girsang, voiced a similar opinion, saying that violating the profession's code of ethics was not the same as violating the law.

"You cannot accuse a lawyer or a doctor of committing a crime while carrying out his duties. It is the respective professions' disciplinary boards who decide this," he added.

Kadafi said that a law on the profession was necessary to ensure the establishment of an independent bar association and a morally binding code of ethics.

He said that the law should also improve the status of lawyers, which is often subordinate to other law agents such as the judges, the police and the prosecutors.

Such a bill is now under discussion by a special committee of the House of Representatives and will take some time to become law.(bby)