UN legal investigator meets Indonesian judges

UN legal investigator meets Indonesian judges

Reuters, Jakarta

A UN investigator met several supreme court judges in Jakarta
on Tuesday as part of a 10-day fact-finding mission looking into
judicial corruption and the independence of the judiciary.

The visit to Indonesia by United Nations special rapporteur
Param Cumaraswamy, who arrived in the capital on Monday, comes
amid several court cases against high profile Indonesians and
concerns by independent lawyers over a perceived lack of genuine
legal reform.

"He arrived yesterday (Monday) at 11 o'clock so has only had a
handful of meetings....with some Supreme Court judges, some NGOs
and had a courtesy call with the foreign ministry," his aide
said.

Cumaraswamy is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Hassan
Wirayuda on Wednesday and the attorney general and other leading
government and judicial figures later in the week.

He will present a report on his visit to the U.N. Human Rights
Commission next April.

Indonesia's legal system has been criticized over issues
ranging from lack of transparency to unpredictability and was
dealt a fresh blow last month by a controversial bankruptcy
ruling against the country's fourth largest life insurer,
Manulife Indonesia.

Parent company Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corp alleged
bribery influenced the ruling by the Jakarta Commercial Court on
June 13. Indonesia is probing the allegations.

Indonesia's Supreme Court last week overturned the Manulife
ruling but some foreign investors say they remain worried by a
lack of legal certainty.

Prosecutors' demands on Monday for a 15-year jail term for
former President Soeharto's favorite son for allegedly
masterminding a murder, possessing illegal arms and evading a
graft conviction also sparked controversy.

The non-governmental organization Judicial Watch Indonesia
said the sentence demanded for Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra
showed prosecutors were not totally confident of their case
against him and branded the trial a joke.