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)