New regulation on corruption out end of April

New regulation on corruption out end of April

JAKARTA (JP): The government will issue a new regulation to
shift the burden of proof to deal with certain corruption and
narcotics cases by the end of this month.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa, after a
meeting with Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, told
journalists on Monday that his office is discussing the new
regulation thoroughly.

"God willing, it will be finished by the end of April or early
of May. However, we are still thinking about the regulation's
form, whether it would be a law or a government regulation in
lieu of law," Lopa said.

President Abdurrahman Wahid, in an effort to fight rampant
corruption, called for the shift of the burden of proof system
last week, which will require defendants to prove that they are
not guilty.

Under the new procedure, the accused must prove that they
acquired money or other assets legally.

Currently, it is the prosecutors who have to prove that the
defendant is guilty.

"Most people wish that the regulation would be in the form of
a government regulation in lieu of law so we can implement it as
soon as possible.

"Issuing a law would take time as we have to go through the
House of Representatives," Lopa said.

Separately, the Golkar Party faction chairman at the House of
Representatives Syamsul Muarif said that it would be better for
the government to revise the current Law No. 31/1999 on
corruption or issue another law to administer the system.

"I do not think that the government regulation in lieu of law
would be sufficient to deal with such cases, we need to have
clearer standards for such a system," Syamsul said in his office.

Separately, former president Soeharto's lawyer Juan Felix
Tampubolon told The Jakarta Post that the government should
conduct research before implementing the system as it could be
abused as a political tool that might result in human rights
violations.

"If we want to use the system, we have to conduct a thorough
research first and set clear standards for cases that can be
handled under such regulations as it is not for all corruption
cases," Tampubolon said.

He said that several countries which apply the reversed burden
of proof system limit it to bribery cases.

"Actually it is a good idea, but we should be careful as it
can be used as a tool to politicize legal cases," Tampubolon
further said.

"In my opinion in would be better if we concentrate more on
revising Law No. 31/1999 on corruption by strengthening efforts
to prove corruption cases; not by issuing a new regulation that
we hardly understand," he remarked.

Indonesia is one of the countries in the world with the
highest level of corruption cases. So far, efforts to combat
corruption have been unfruitful due to the lack of political
will, loopholes in existing laws and regulations and corrupt
judicial officers. (dja)