Susilo installs members of Judicial Commission

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurated on Tuesday seven members of the newly formed National Judicial Commission, with the main task of supervising the judges in the country and helping put an end to corruption in the judiciary.

The commission members include Zainal Arifin, Thahir Saimima, Irawady Joeneous, Chatamarrasjid, M. Busyro Muqoddas, Mustofa Abdullah and Soekotjo Soeparto.

The establishment of the commission is mandated by law as part of an effort to ensure impartiality and professionalism. The commission should have been set up a year ago, but its establishment was delayed for unexplained reasons.

Commission member Busyro said that for the next ten months, the commission would gather information and reports from the public over court verdicts that have been deemed controversial and might contain irregularities.

"We will soon open up a mailbox to gather reports and complaints from the public over the performance of judges. The commission will later follow up on those reports," said Busyro after the inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

Busyro said the commission would have the authority to inspect the judges for alleged irregularities on their verdicts, and recommend punishment that should be followed up by the Supreme Court or the Constitutional Court.

The punishment may range from a warning letter to a dismissal.

The commission will also jointly arrange a code of conduct and ethics for judges with the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, in order to form a clear line to define violations or irregularities.

"We will form some kind of an agreement with the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court in following up our recommendations. This is to ensure that our supervision is effective. Based on the law, our recommendation is binding," said Busyro.

Aside from giving recommendations, the commission will also set up a database for the country's 6,000 judges in order to assess performance.

The result of the performance assessment will be used as a basis for the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court to promote a judge.

The country's judicial system is known to be one of the most corrupt in the world, with bribes often playing a great role for judges in issuing a ruling. Corruption has become more systematic as it involves lawyers and professional brokers.

The commission, however, will have no authority to intervene or annul a court's verdict.

"We can punish the judge, but we cannot change the verdicts. If the judges go to jail, their rulings will remain. It will be the authority of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court to revoke the controversial rulings," said Busyro.