Susilo installs members of Judicial Commission
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.