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)