Minister Yusril rules out foreign judges for local courts

Minister Yusril rules out foreign judges for local courts

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza
Mahendra has rejected a proposal to hire judges from the
Netherlands for Indonesian courts because of a perceived dearth
of clean local judges.

Speaking at a meeting of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) in
Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Thursday, Yusril said the proposal
would violate the law.

"Hiring Dutch judges is like imposing a new colonialism,"
Yusril, who is also the party chairman, told The Jakarta Post
after opening the meeting.

He suspected the proposal emerged after the government
appeared to be lacking in candidates qualified to fill 19
vacancies on the Supreme Court.

The proposal was first disclosed by Faisal Basri, a member of
a government economic advisory team, on Monday. He said the
government might consider hiring Dutch judges to handle specific
cases, such as corporate bankruptcies.

The idea to hire foreign judges was made because of the public
impression that most Indonesian judges are corrupt. The Dutch
were chosen because Indonesia uses the Dutch judicial system.

Indonesian courts have been criticized for rejecting
bankruptcy petitions and hampering the process of settling
mountains of unpaid corporate debts.

Yusril disclosed that the proposal to hire foreign judges was
discussed at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

"But I rejected the idea, although there was an agreement to
improve the performance of the commercial courts," he said.

He said the meeting agreed to seek the removal of some heads
of Jakarta's five district courts to speed up the improvement
process.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung also dismissed the plan to hire
foreign judges, saying it would undermine the country's efforts
to uphold the supremacy of law.

"It seems that we no longer trust our own judges," Akbar, who
is also chairman of the Golkar Party, said on Wednesday.

He said the government must instead strive to improve the
legal apparatus, including judges, police and prosecutors.

He acknowledged the process would take time.

Legal expert Laica Marzuki from Hasanuddin University in
Makassar warned the proposal to hire foreign judges would create
new problems.

"There are bad judges, but there also judges who are clean and
who can be counted on," Laica, who is also a supreme justice
candidate, said. (27/jun)