Supreme Court may let police examine wayward judges

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a move to tackle corruption in the judiciary, the Supreme Court is mulling the possibility of allowing police investigators to question judges allegedly involved in bribery without having to wait for approval from the court's disciplinary committee.

"I think the disciplinary committee should focus on cases involving violations of the judge's code of ethics and code of conduct. If the case deals with bribery allegations, then it is the responsibility of the police to investigate," Chief Justice Bagir Manan said on the sidelines of the launch of a judicial reform blueprint.

The move, he added, was necessary in an attempt to eliminate public accusations that the disciplinary committee only operated as an internal mechanism to protect judges involved in crimes.

"I believe that a neutral body, in this case the police, should be authorized to investigate bribery within the judiciary. Apart from preventing public accusations, judges (on the committee) are not specifically trained to investigate crime," Bagir told reporters on Thursday.

Bagir has frequently complained about bribery in the courts.

In its latest Corruption Perception release, the Berlin-based Transparency International again rated Indonesia among the most corrupt countries in the world. Corruption watchdogs in Indonesia have noticed that such crimes have been rampant not only in the bureaucracy, but in the judiciary and legislative bodies.

The Supreme Court has always had a disciplinary committee to investigate certain violations, including alleged corruption, involving judges. In most cases the committee has simply exonerated judges from any wrongdoing, thus preventing the police from taking up an investigation.

Many believe that members of the committee, who are also judges, are unable to put their esprit de corps aside, which hinders their ability to make an objective decision against their fellow judges.

One of the most prominent examples was a decision by the Supreme Court's disciplinary committee earlier this year to exonerate three judges from the Jakarta Commercial Court who were alleged to have taken bribes following their controversial verdict that declared Canada-based Manulife insurance firm bankrupt. The committee's decision meant that the police had no recourse or mandate to investigate further.

The committee's recommendation forced the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights to lift the suspension imposed on them shortly after the case surfaced last year. The verdict of Judge Tjahyono, CH Kristri Purnamiwulan and Hasan Basri had sparked controversy as Manulife was proven to be very healthy and solvent.

In 2001, three Supreme Court justices evaded prosecution despite confessions from a middleman who admitted to bribing them for Rp 200 million to win his client's case. The justices filed a defamation lawsuit against the middleman, and he, not the judges, was eventually convicted and sentenced to three months in jail.

Bagir said the judicial reform blueprint was also intended to build an independent, transparent and reputable judiciary.

Among other things, Bagir said, the court would focus on establishing a system of transparency in the courts to enable the general public to observe their performance.

"I have ordered the courts to provide any information requested by scholars or any other parties," he said, adding that the court was currently developing an information system on the judiciary.

The Supreme Court is also moving to reform its administration of cases.

The lengthy and complicated procedures have been blamed for contributing to the existence of "the judicial mafia". The complicated procedures have also resulted in some 16,000 currently backlogged cases.