UN to probe RI judiciary's independence

UN to probe RI judiciary's independence

Agence France-Presse, Geneva

A United Nations expert will carry out a fact-finding mission to
Indonesia this month to look into the general functioning of the
legal system, including the independence of the judiciary, the UN
said on Wednesday.

Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, UN special rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers, will also probe allegations
of judicial corruption during his July 15-25 mission, a statement
said.

He hoped the trip would "contribute to the Indonesian
government's efforts toward a greater realization of civil and
political rights" and the "more effective functioning of the
judicial and legal systems", it added.

Cumaraswamy, a Malaysian lawyer, has asked to meet Indonesia's
Chief Justice, Foreign Minister, Minister of Justice and Human
Rights and Attorney General among other officials.

He is due to present his report to the next annual session of
the UN Human Rights Commission in April 2003.

During his mission, the UN rapporteur, appointed in 1994, is
also expected to look into issues of impunity, the legal
profession, the prosecution and court system and state of the
rule of law.

The Indonesian government representative at this year's Human
Rights Commission said they hoped the visit would benefit the
country's national capacity building efforts in the field of
human rights, the UN said.