Public control a must to stop corrupt judiciary: ICW
Public control a must to stop corrupt judiciary: ICW
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The non-governmental organization, Indonesian Corruption Watch
(ICW), has called for public control of the judiciary, as the
best way to combat the endemic corruption in the country's
courts.
ICW believes that lack of control is the main cause of concern
related to widespread corruption in the judiciary, which the
watchdog described as an extraordinary crime due to its systemic
and widespread modus operandi.
When releasing the results of its investigation into
corruption in the judicial system on Tuesday, the watchdog
suggested the Supreme Court -- as the last bastion of justice --
initially make court proceedings and documentation transparent.
ICW chairman Teten Masduki told the media conference that to
this point justice seekers were still in the dark on what exact
payment was needed to reach the desired verdict, as there were
always "extra costs" and "invalid rulings".
"We expect the Supreme Court to take quick steps soon after
receiving our report, because we show that justice seekers have
to pay during each stage of the administrative legal process
before their cases can be heard in court.
"But the most effective way is to allow the public to examine
court rulings in a bid to see whether irregularities have been
made," Teten revealed.
The report titled Lifting the Lid on the Judicial Mafia:
Research into Patterns of Corruption within the Judiciary shows
that every law enforcement agent -- ranging from investigators to
lawyers, prosecutors, judges and jail wardens -- are involved in
corruption.
Danang Widoyoko of ICW explained the importance behind ICW's
call for the legislature to let the public control the judiciary.
He noted that although legal reform had been campaigned for
the last three years, no single court had let law students, let
alone judicial watchdogs, obtain copies of their rulings for
further study -- despite the fact that court rulings are public
records.
Meanwhile, ICW co-founder Todung Mulya Lubis called on the
public not to lose hope, even if the legislature would not give
the public access to information on the legal system.
"We need all the time we have. The drive to combat corruption
in the judiciary is a cultural movement," he said.
Out of desperation to find effective measures to clean up the
judiciary, Teten even suggested "just shooting the judges".
That recommendation was a more radical version of advise given
by visiting UN rapporteur Dato Param Cumaraswamy to Minister of
Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra when the two met at
the minister's office on Tuesday.
Cumarasmawy suggested Minister Yusril "fire the judges" who
were implicated in corruption.
Yusril said he refused to heed such advise, saying that he
could only dismiss the judges if the court found them guilty.
"I told him (Cumaraswamy) that Indonesia has its own way of
solving its problems without being compared to other countries.
If he tries to criticize the government then we regard it as
interference," he remarked.
Cumaraswamy is on a mission to investigate the independence of
the country's judiciary. He has apparently changed tack midway
and is now investigating corruption in the judiciary, having
learned that government intervention in the courts is no longer
an issue. He will complete his mission on Wednesday.