Lopa names 200 judges for troubled areas
Lopa names 200 judges for troubled areas
JAKARTA (JP): The government will deploy 200 judges to
troubled areas, including Maluku, Irian Jaya, Central Kalimantan,
Central Sulawesi and Aceh, within the next two weeks, Minister of
Justice and Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa said on Saturday.
The minister said he had started the selection process for the
judges.
"We need 64 judges for Aceh, 23 for Palangkaraya, and over 40
for Central Sulawesi...," he said in Surabaya while addressing a
meeting of judges from East Java and local councillors.
He said the judges would be insured.
"I have asked for the arrangement of the funds to cover travel
costs, insurance, trial allowances and the accommodation
allowances," he was quoted by Antara as saying.
He said the decision to send the judges to the troubled areas
had been taken earlier this week at a meeting with Vice President
Megawati Soekarnoputri, the coordinating minister for political,
social and security affairs, the Armed Forces chief, and the
Director General of Budgetary Affairs as the representative of
the Minister of Finance.
He called upon the judges not to worry about the assignment
and be faithful to God.
"It's a blessing if you are assigned to a rough place. It's
not a burden but rather a blessing from God," he asserted
optimistically.
He said that Supreme Court justices and first echelon
officials from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights would
accompany the judges until they arrived at their destinations.
"I promised Ibu Mega that the judges would be accompanied by
the (Supreme Court) justices to build up their standing. Won't
they work harder if they are accompanied by the justices?" he
asked.
He added that at the meeting with the Vice President, he had
also proposed an increase in judges' salaries.
The legal system in a number of troubled areas is close to
collapse as many judges have fled for security reasons.
Proof
Lopa also commented that any shift in the burden of proof
needed to be formulated into a law rather than a regulation in
lieu of a law. But he denied that the move was being taken in
order to pressure the government's political opponents.
He said that it was aimed at providing objective
considerations (in corruption trials).
"I will announce this issue at the state palace on Monday when
I will submit a bill incorporating the establishment of a
presumption of guilt. If it was based on a regulation in lieu, it
could be changed by the House of Representatives. What if a case
has already been tried based on the regulation and then it was
superseded?" he asked.
Establishing a presumption of guilt in certain cases was
suggested by President Abdurrahman Wahid last month in a bid to
fight rampant corruption. Lopa had said previously that the
government would issue a regulation in lieu of a law as drafting
a new law would take too long.
Many, however, rejected the idea, saying that it would be used
more as a political weapon.
According to Lopa, the matter had nothing do with President
Abdurrahman's political opponents.
"It is simply to uphold justice," he said.
Lopa said that shifting the burden of proof did not violate
human rights and was aimed at providing some redress to the poor
who had suffered as a result of the actions of corrupt
individuals.
Prosecutors, he added, had all too often failed to prove the
involvement of defendants in graft cases.
"As a result, only 10 percent to 20 percent of the state's
losses could be recovered," Lopa said.
According to Lopa, the plan will make it easier to combat
corruption committed by middle- and lower-ranking officers. But
things will be quite difficult if high-ranking officials were
also involved as it is these very officials who are supposed to
control corruption.(hdn)