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.