Tempo's case should be heard openly: Experts
Tempo's case should be heard openly: Experts
JAKARTA (JP): The government's announcement that it plans to appeal against a court ruling in favor of the banned Tempo newsweekly has sparked calls that the hearing of the appeal by the Supreme Court be conducted openly.
While most legal experts are calling on the government to accept the verdict of the Jakarta State Administrative Court, two of them said that if Minister of Information Harmoko goes ahead with his plan to appeal the decision, the hearing should be conducted in the open rather than behind closed doors as is the current practice.
Former justice minister Ismail Saleh said in an interview with the Kompas daily yesterday that high-profile cases such as the Tempo litigation should be open to the public.
"With open procedures, both the public and the press can see for themselves all the debates that occur in the courtroom," he said. "So, when a decision is made, the public won't be taken by surprise."
Ismail's suggestion was quickly taken up by Loebby Loqman, a professor of law at Jakarta's University of Indonesia.
"In principle, all court trials should be open to public ... in the Netherlands, whence all our laws originate, the public can attend trials," Loebby told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
The State Administrative Court ruled on Wednesday that Harmoko's decision to revoke the publishing license of Tempo last June was against the law. The court ordered the minister to rescind his decision and give Tempo its license back.
The court heard two actions against Harmoko. One filed by Tempo's senior journalist and founder Goenawan Mohamad and the other by a group of the magazine's employees. Judge Benjamin Mangkoedilaga, who heard both cases, made the same ruling in respect of each.
Harmoko immediately declared that he intended to file for an appeal, raising concerns among some legal experts and press freedom activists that the jubilation that followed Wednesday's ruling could be premature.
Loebby and Ismail argued for an open hearing at the Supreme Court because, they said, it would be a form of public education about the legal system in Indonesia.
Loebby, however, doubted that the wish would be realized.
"It really is a good suggestion, but whether it can be carried out is another question," he said.
"There's this firmly-established tradition (in Indonesia) of closed court sessions, especially when it comes to appeals."
He was said he was concerned that high profile cases, such as the Tempo lawsuits, would pit the courts against those who have political power and that juridical considerations might be overridden by political interests.
"There's the possibility that the ex-Tempo employees may lose in higher courts because of the overriding political factors," he said.
Loebby said he would rather see the government simply accept the verdict. "The minister should return the publishing license to its function, which is merely as an administrative procedures."
Ridwan Widyadarma, a staff lecturer at Diponegoro University in Semarang, called the court's ruling "a very valuable lesson for this country."
Ridwan too believed that, judging from the evidence at the trial, Harmoko should drop his plan to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Communication expert Novel Ali, also from Diponegoro University, lauded the court's ruling in the lawsuit against Harmoko.
He said it might help dispel the image that "political communication channels are dominated by the formal political institutions only."
He said the ruling would also be beneficial in creating a more favorable image of Indonesia in international legal fora. (swe/har)