Officials disregard Administrative Court

Officials disregard Administrative Court

JAKARTA (JP): Despite growing public support to stop
government officials disregarding its decisions, the Jakarta
State Administrative Court is still facing difficulties caused by
many officials turning a blind eye to its rulings.

The administrative court cannot impose sanctions or fines on
officials who are reluctant to abide by the its rulings, head of
the court Benjamin Mangkoedilaga told The Jakarta Post yesterday
during a lunch held to mark the court's 5th anniversary.

The implementation of the administrative court's rulings
depends on the political will of officials and the people.
"In the last five years some officials have faced judicial
restrictions on their decision-making ability and have not liked
it," Benjamin said.

He called on officials to help make the administrative court's
rules effective by improving their moral standards and respect
for its decisions. "It has something to do with their mental
attitude." He added that it would take more than 20 years to make
all officials realize that they should have a moral
responsibility to be accountable for their decisions.

The luncheon was also held to bid Benjamin farewell as he has
been appointed to be a judge at the Medan High Administrative
Court.

Benjamin will be replaced by Lintong O. Siahaan. But as
Siahaan is still in position as head of the Bandung State
Administrative Court, Sudarto Radysuwarno will temporarily
replace Benjamin.

Benjamin's sudden departure has sparked wild rumors, with many
people saying that he was demoted and sidelined by the government
because of his consistent stance on rulings over controversial
issues.

But Benjamin himself considers his sudden transfer to Medan a
promotion.

He said that public awareness of the need to control the
government's decisions through legal procedures has increased
since the administrative court was established.

During its five-year lifetime, the court has received 894
lawsuits; 166 in 1991, 207 in 1992, 156 in 1993, 198 in 1994 and
167 in 1995. Most of the lawsuits were on land and permit cases,
Benjamin said.

Several recent cases have demonstrated his point. Some
workers' lawsuit against the director of the state-owned
transport company PPD and a student's lawsuit against the
University of Indonesia rector are but two.

The court ruled that the decision made by the director of PPD
to fire 10 bus crew members was unlawful and that the company had
to pay their salaries. The company did not accept the court's
decision until after more than two months of tough negotiations.

On Dec. 21 last year the court issued a decision asking the
University of Indonesia rector to postpone the suspension of a
student of the school of medicine. The rector has not yet
postponed the suspension.

Benjamin said that several officials have criticized the
administrative court for its decisions which do not favor them.

The Jakarta State Administrative Court is also facing a
shortage of personnel, he said. "The court should have 15 judges,
while at the moment it has only eight." (29/14)