Special justice councils set up before free trade

JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court has set up two special councils of justices, on intellectual property rights and banking, Chief Justice Sarwata said yesterday.

"It was decided in a leadership meting last month. The move is taken in anticipation of 21st century global free trade," Sarwata said.

The special council of justices on intellectual property rights is chaired by Sarwata and the one on banking by Deputy Chief Justice for Civil Courts Mochamad Iman.

The members of the councils will receive special training this month, Sarwata told journalists after swearing in four deputy chief justices.

The four were Deputy Chief Justice for General Crimes M. Yahya Harahap; Deputy Chief Justice for Military Tribunals Maj. Gen. German Hoediarto; Deputy Chief Justice for State Administrative Courts Zakir and Deputy Chief Justice for Tribal Laws M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita.

They took their oaths before Sarwata and President Soeharto at the state palace.

Addressing the well-publicized mounting backlog of cases at the Supreme Court, Sarwata said he needed three more justices to speed up the settlement of the outstanding cases.

The court now has 48 justices.

"I have asked the House of Representatives to endorse the appointment of three more justices as mandated by laws," he said.

Sarwata said he hoped the court could settle 50 backlog cases per day or 1,000 every month.

He said that the number backlog of litigation cases was 14,609 on June 2. In December it numbered 17,559.

Sarwata declined to comment on allegations by Megawati Soekarnoputri's lawyers that the Supreme Court was pressured by the government to reject lawsuits she has filed.

Megawati has sued various government officials for allegedly backing her ousting from the Indonesian Democratic Party leadership last year. Most of the lawsuits have been rejected. (05)