RI faces shortage of lawyers

BOGOR: Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said here that Indonesia was short of about 2,000 lawyers.

Indonesia should have 5,500 lawyers to serve at least 400 district courts throughout the country, but in reality there are only about 3,500 lawyers at present, he said.

"In order to fill this gap, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights is scheduled to recruit up to 700 lawyers next year," Yusril said at a ceremony commemorating the third anniversary of the Cibinong District Court.

The minister also expressed concern over the poor condition of the facilities under his ministry's supervision, including detention centers, quarantine areas and warehouses for confiscated goods.

"All the detention centers at police stations are operating at full capacity and this problem needs the cooperation of the courts, prosecutor's offices and the police," he said.

Yusril said on Monday the capacity of existing quarantines was very limited, and illegal immigrants were continuing to arrive. These immigrants need special treatment as they are not prisoners, he said, asking that if prisoners were usually set free after two or more years, how long were the immigrants expected to stay. --JP