Topnotch lawyers create legal aid institute
Topnotch lawyers create legal aid institute
JAKARTA (JP): Good news for hard up justice seekers: Some of
Indonesia's topnotch lawyers have created a non-profit legal aid
institute.
Harjono Tjitrosoebono, Mohammad Assegaf, Luhut M.P.
Pangaribuan, Henry Yosodiningrat, Nurbani Yusuf and Teguh
Samudera are some of the Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin)
lawyers who will provide free legal assistance through the
Lembaga Keadilan Indonesia (LKI), the Indonesian Justice
Institute.
Harjono, the chairman of Ikadin, said during the ceremony
marking the institute's establishment on Saturday that "it's long
been our objective to set up the legal aid as part of our
commitment for unimpaired law enforcement here."
The institute will have a board of trustees and a central
board of executives. Harjono will chair the board of trustees,
with Amartiwi Saleh as his secretary, and Sri Edi Swasono, E.J.
Kanter and Kastorius Sinaga as members.
Harjono affirmed that the institute is non-profit. "We will
provide free service to the poor seeking just solutions to their
problems," he said.
He said the institute plans to solicit donors, either local or
foreign, to finance its activities.
R.O. Tambunan said the institute will also be vocal about
social, economical and political problems in Indonesia.
"We plan to recruit experts from various fields so our service
will not be only in the form of legal services," he said.
As its first step, the institute has arranged for its own
address, P.O. Box 5366, for people to report any legal problems
and injustices they encounter.
"People can report to us about corruption. We'll forward the
reports to the Attorney General's Office for litigation," he
said. "They can even report to us about violations they see in
connection with the general election next year."
Tambunan said the institute will also join the campaign for a
legal system reform, by making an inventory of irrelevant old and
present laws as well as laws which may violate human rights.
"We'll channel our findings to related institutions, including
the Ministry of Justice and the House of Representatives," he
said. (imn)