Mappi proposes new body to rid judiciary of corruption
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.