Order in the judiciary

It must be said, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa began his new job with a resounding bang. As soon as he effectively took over the post from the outgoing minister, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, on Monday, Lopa read out a circular forbidding everyone, including judges and officials under his authority, to take or receive bribes or to abuse their authority.

Copies of the announcement were distributed to all judges and the ministry's offices located throughout the country to be "put in their pockets to remind them of the importance of honesty, moral integrity and discipline", Lopa told those attending the ceremony. "So, hopefully, there will be no abuse of power, including bribery, which is the root of all crimes in the judicial institutions."

Without doubt, by singling out abuse of authority and bribery, Lopa has put the finger on one of the most pestilent diseases that plagues this country's judicial system at present. No doubt, too, the minister means what he says. It is a rare person in Indonesia who doubts Lopa's personal integrity and determination to stamp out corruption in the judiciary.

The question is, how effective can a circular be -- even a direct ministerial circular -- in fighting this ubiquitous social scourge that not even presidential directives and military orders were able to correct in the past?

"If I may, I want to work in my own fashion, which I consider will be the most effective, since we are now racing against time," Lopa told reporters after the ceremony. "There are too many things that must be done to correct the judicial system, and it is not an easy job," the minister remarked.

As a former director general of correctional facilities, Lopa should know. In that former position, for example, the now 65- year-old Lopa used to make impromptu inspection visits to penitentiaries during the night. Everything would be satisfactory during the day, but at night one might find that a convict was not in his cell -- an indication that in prison, freedom and other privileges are often for sale.

One celebrated case that is still particularly well remembered by the public is that of Eddy Tanzil, a wealthy businessman who was imprisoned for big-time corruption during the former Soeharto regime that involved at least one Indonesian top-ranking official.

Unreasonable court verdicts, especially in corruption cases, are another indication that more than a few things are seriously amiss in this country's judicial system. To cite Lopa: "There can be very striking differences between verdicts. In one region, for example, a defendant charged with corruption involving Rp 100 million in state funds was sentenced to five years in jail, while here in Jakarta the defendant in a multibillion rupiah case only got two years in prison."

Little wonder that even at the beginning of his job as minister of justice and human rights Lopa's patience seems near to exhaustion. What makes his job so daunting, though, is that his authority -- or the authority of his ministry -- is limited to handling the administrative aspects of judicial management. While his office is authorized to train, screen and install judges, in the performance of their judicial functions they are accountable to the Supreme Court -- not the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

There can be no doubt about it: the mess that is Indonesia's judicial system at present is one of the basic causes of the public's cynicism with regard to the government and the administration. Without doubt, putting the judicial house in order must be a top priority for the government if trust is to be restored.

For those reasons, Lopa's efforts to put things right in his office is a beginning that deserves the support of every Indonesian, however skeptical one may be. After all, there is still a glimmer of hope that Lopa, with his reputation and willpower, may just succeed where others before him have failed.