The Supreme Court's good intentions

At the beginning of his term in office as chairman of the Supreme Court, Sarwata made two important announcements. First, he promised to lend transparency to the state institution which he now leads. Through computerization, justice seekers will be able to check by telephone on the progress that is being made on appeals. Second, the Supreme Court intends as of May to speed up the examination of the backlog of unfinished cases, which according to the latest data available now numbers 16,000.

It is hoped this acceleration of the pace of work will not reduce the meticulousness of the Supreme Court's judges. Naturally there is still another requirement: the Supreme Court's independence. As long as outside powers have the chance to intervene, simple cases will become complicated and take a long time to go through the process.

We appreciate Sarwana's drive in trying to make the Supreme Court more dynamic and proactive. The problem is, will his enthusiasm and drive be met in the same spirit by the judges? After all, the Supreme Court does not run on the strength of its chairman alone.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta