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)