RI faces shortage of lawyers

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