Supporters rally for Justice Adi

JAKARTA (JP): A retired respected judge and a legislator rallied yesterday behind Justice Adi Andojo Soetjipto, who is facing dismissal from the Supreme Court for blowing the whistle on corruption practices in the legal system.

Bismar Siregar, a former Supreme Court justice, said President Soeharto must take into account the fine character and track record of Adi Andojo in deciding whether or not to approve the proposal to discharge the senior justice.

"Adi Andojo has served as a deputy chief justice for a long time. He must have been very thoughtful and careful in his effort to disclose alleged collusion in the Supreme Court," Bismar told The Jakarta Post.

"I don't believe it was Adi Andojo's intention to jeopardize the judicial system. The betterment of the system must have been in his mind," he added.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono disclosed on Friday that President Soeharto had received a letter from Chief Justice Soerjono proposing that Justice Adi be discharged.

The move marked the culmination of a row, conducted in public, between Soerjono and Adi over allegations of collusion in the Supreme Court.

Adi insisted that collusion practices were rife, while Soerjono said there was no evidence to support the claim. The chief justice later ordered Justice Adi to desist, saying that his action was undermining the integrity of the court itself.

V.B. Da Costa, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party, said the government should seek independent opinions in weighing Soerjono's request to dismiss Adi Andojo.

"The government can also discuss the issue with the House of Representatives," Da Costa told The Jakarta Post.

Da Costa accused Soerjono of acting "arbitrarily".

Bismar said Chief Justice Soerjono should not have become emotional. "As Chief Justice, Soerjono has the prerogative right to propose Adi's dismissal. But he should also have considered Adi's goodwill in strengthening the image of the Supreme Court."

By law, the chief justice has the right to propose to the head of state to discharge any member of the Supreme Court on the grounds of either reaching the retirement age, physical illness, inability to perform his or her duty and at a justice's own request.

Both Bismar and Da Lopez said the House of Representatives should also be given a say in the matter, given that it was the House which had proposed the names of all members of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, to the President.

Da Costa warned that dismissing Adi Andojo would have negative repercussions on the country's legal system.

"The day he is dismissed will be a black page in the history of the country's judicial system. We should then hoist our flags at half mast," he said.

Bismar disagreed, saying that there are still many other independent-minded judges. "Do you think that all the other Indonesian judges are really that bad?" he asked.

Da Costa said that Justice Adi had never really been given the chance to prove his allegations of collusion in the Supreme Court, noting some flaws in the way the court handled the investigation into the allegations.

"Even if his allegations were unfounded, he should be allowed to defend himself before the Court's Honorary Council," he said. "If the council later faulted him for misconduct, only then could Soerjono initiate his motion to discharge Adi," said Da Costa, who is a member of the House's Commission III on legal affairs.

On a separate occasion, Muladi, law professor and rector of Diponegoro University in Semarang, said everyone should respect whatever decision is reached by the President.

"President Soeharto would consider all factors in making a decision over the chief justice's proposal to dismiss Adi Andojo. The decision, whatever that may be, will be beneficial for the nation and the Supreme Court," Muladi was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday.

Separately, Satjipto Rahardjo, a law professor at Diponegoro University, praised Adi as an "ideal" and "clean" judge.

"Adi's idealism can be seen from his firmness in trying to maintain the good image of the Supreme Court by cleansing it from any collusion practices," he said.

He called on Indonesian judges to uphold Adi Andojo as an example of a good and ideal judge, so that the image of the Indonesian judicial system would be clean. (imn)

Editorial -- Page 4