Three controversial Manulife judges suspended from duties
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The three judges, who are suspected of accepting bribes to declare PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife bankrupt, have been suspended to pave the way for the Jakarta High Court to set up a disciplinary council to investigate the matter further.
"Starting Aug. 6, the three (Manulife) judges, Hasan Basri, Ch. Kristipurnami Wulan and Tjahyono, will be suspended from duty," Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra told a press conference here on Tuesday.
The three drew strong domestic and international criticism on June 13 when they declared PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife, the local unit of Canadian insurance giant Manulife Financial, bankrupt.
The Supreme Court later overturned the judges' verdict following strong protests from Ottawa.
Yusril said earlier that there were "indications of criminal acts" by the three judges.
The minister said that President Megawati Soekarnoputri had issued a decree suspending the three judges based on Government Regulation No. 30/1980 on the civil service and Government Regulation No 26/1991 on procedures for the removal of judges.
He also said that the issuance of the decree by President Megawati showed that she agreed with the conclusion reached by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights' Inspectorate General that the three judges had engaged in unbecoming conduct and broken the law.
"On Aug. 7, I'll send a letter to the Jakarta High Court to set up a disciplinary council to further investigate the judges in respect of these charges," Yusril said.
The proposed council would have to reach a conclusion within 30 days and propose a course of action to the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, and the Chief Justice.
The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights would then send a final recommendation to the President on the removal of the three judges, Yusril added.
According to Yusril, he would also continue to encourage the National Police to continue its investigation into the three judges.
The three judges are suspected of receiving bribes to declare PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife bankrupt in court proceedings filed the company's previous owner, PT Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera (DSS).
The judges declared Manulife bankrupt for failing to pay a dividend to DSS in 1999. Manulife has said that the shareholders agreed not to pay any dividends in that year.
Following the controversial verdict, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights set up a team from the ministry's Inspectorate General to investigate the three judges.
The decision to suspend the judges, however, appears to have been triggered by strong international pressure rather than the government's commitment to eradicating corruption.
United States Secretary of State Colin Powell urged Indonesia last Friday to redouble the efforts to clean up its courts, saying the state of the judiciary was a deterrent to American investors.
Last month United Nations rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy said widespread corruption had undermined both local and foreign confidence in the judicial system.