Legal system not responsive to changing climate

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's legal system is not responsive to the rapidly changing societal environment and this partly accounts for the waning reputation of the country's courts, Justice Minister Oetojo Oesman said yesterday.

Oetojo said that while the 100 percent hike in judges' salaries is intended to remedy the weaknesses in the legal system, it is no guarantee that the judges will improve their performance overnight, or that this will solve the problems besetting the country's legal system.

The minister called a media conference in his office yesterday to review the legal system in 1994. During the session, reporters asked questions on the hottest topic of the day in legal circles -- the reputation of the Indonesian courts and their judges.

Oetojo said part of the problem stemmed from the lack of new legislation in Indonesia, which would make it easier to cope with the changing societal environment.

"We do not have any regulations governing the sanctions for disobedient debtors or investors," he said, citing an example.

Pointing out the massive loan scandal at the state-owned Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo), he said present banking laws only regulate the function of banks in general, but not the credit mechanism.

He said Indonesia has also been left powerless as foreign manufacturers steal the copyrights for Indonesian garment products because the law does not make provisions for Indonesia's becoming a major textile exporting country.

He said the hefty increase in the salaries of judges beginning next month is a welcome development and is expected to make judges more independent in their work.

While agreeing with critics who say that it will take more than a big salary increase to make judges independent, he said the image problem of the nation's courts could not be entirely blamed on the judges. He cited the prosecutors, the police, the lawyers and the parties in dispute as contributing factors.

The judges are only one of the components in the legal system, he said.

He agreed that there is a need to continually upgrade the quality and capability of judges and also for stricter procedures for recruiting judges in order to enhance the credibility of the court system.

Oetojo, whose portfolio gives him administrative control over the judges, disagreed with the suggestion that the other professionals in the legal system should also be given a similar wage increase.

"The judges hold the biggest responsibility in every court decision because they are the ones who ultimately determine the outcome of a trial," he said.

Critics of the judges' salary increase said that the move will cause envy among the other professionals in the legal circles.

Responding to this, Oetojo said that the various professions should create some kind of financial incentives to encourage better performance from their members. The funds could come from contributions from the members of the profession themselves.

Police, for example, could award their members who succeeded in busting a drug syndicate, he said. (imn)