Mappi proposes new body to rid judiciary of corruption

Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In another sign of distrust of the nation's legal institutions, the Indonesian Judicial Monitoring Society (Mappi) demanded the establishment of an independent body to supervise the judicial process.

Mappi said in a report presented at a seminar on Tuesday that such an integrated judiciary supervisory body was needed to ensure justice in the justice system.

It argued that even though the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office and the National Police each had separate supervisory systems to monitor their officials, they had proven ineffective in controlling widespread corruption.

"The effectiveness of supervision within every sub-system is also affected by the (blind) sense of solidarity to defend cronies. This overrides any punishment system in place," Asep Rahmat Fajar, chairman of Mappi, stated on Tuesday.

"Based on those considerations, an independent supervisory is badly needed ... to minimize irregularities in the judicial process," he added.

Many have admitted that the nation's judiciary is corrupt, with judges, prosecutors, investigators and lawyers often taking bribes or colluding with suspects or defendants while dealing with cases.

Mappi said that a survey conducted in April this year showed that the entire legal system had failed miserably to boost its image and win people's trust, despite the current reform era.

The survey involved more than 550 respondents in major cities across the country -- Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar in South Sulawesi and Medan in North Sumatra.

The respondents included 169 police officers, 100 prosecutors, 68 judges, 68 court officials and 80 advocates. At least 37 academics and 26 non-governmental activists were also queried.

Asep said most respondents supported Mappi's proposal for an integrated supervisory body.

The body, he said, should be granted powers to investigate law enforcers in corruption cases as well as other irregularities in the judicial process and be able to take action against those found guilty.

Asep added that the independent external supervisory body should comprise impartial and credible individuals elected by the House of Representatives.

He said the body should be set up in Jakarta and all regional levels and cooperate with internal supervisory boards within existing legal institutions.

Leaders of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office, the National Police and legal experts who spoke at the seminar backed moves to create more control over the legal system.

However, many of them rejected Mappi's call for the establishment of a powerful supervisory body.

They argued that existing internal and external supervisory bodies, such as the state Ombudsmen Commission and many independent anti-corruption watchdogs, merely needed to be empowered so as to be effective.

Asep told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the seminar that if Mappi's proposal was opposed, at least the current Ombudsmen Commission should be further empowered and given the authority to take action against rampant corruption.