Lawyers need legal protection too, govt says

JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers say their profession needs legal protection and guarantees of independence.

Legal practitioners at a panel discussion held by the Ministry of Justice yesterday called on the government and the House of Representatives to introduce a law ensuring legal grounds for their profession.

The three other branches of law enforcement -- police, prosecutors and judges -- already have laws safeguarding their professions.

Lawyers Frans Hendra Winarta, Luhut M. Pangaribuan, Djohan Djauhary, as well as Lies Soegondo, an official at the Ministry of Justice, agreed it is urgent to introduce the law for legal advocates.

Because lawyers are not protected by laws, many suffer harassment, Frans said.

"The legal status of advocates is currently so uncertain that the society, or the other three law enforces, mistreat or misunderstand lawyers," said Frans, a leading member of the Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin).

Lawyers are often thought of as having the same "mentality and attitude" as their clients, or are accused of defending their clients "without reserve" just because they are paid, he said.

What lawyers are really trying to do, he said, is to uphold the principle of presumption of innocence, and to protect their clients' rights to be defended in open, impartial and independent trials.

Frans argued that nothing short of a law on legal counsel can guarantee that lawyers are able to serve their function.

Luhut M. Pangaribuan of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute said that Indonesia needs a law safeguarding advocates so that lawyers can function as effectively as the other three legal professions.

But Luhut also expressed concern that a law protecting lawyers could be used to control lawyers who are critical of the government.

Echoing Luhut and Djohan's sentiments, Frans agreed that "it would be better for us not to have any laws on advocates rather than having to lose our independence."

"A stupid advocate is still an advocate, a dishonest advocate is also still an advocate, but an advocate who is not independent is not an advocate at all," said Frans, citing a famous quote.

However, Djohan Djauhary, the secretary general of the bar association, said that most lawyers would not let themselves be controlled.

Similarly, Lies denied that the government wishes to reduce lawyers' independence by introducing a law governing their profession.

"(The government's plan to introduce such laws) actually shows the government's concern over the existence of this 'legal pillar'," she said.

Current laws, including the 1970 law on Judicial Power and that on the Criminal Code Procedures, she pointed out, already strive to protect the profession of lawyers. (26)