The Jakarta Post
Saturday, December 26, 2009 9:14 PM
The legal mafia
Hikmahanto Juwana , Jakarta
JUSTICE?: Minah, found guilty of stealing three cacao pods from a
plantation, listens as the judge in a Central Java district court gives her
a choice of serving 45 days in jail or three months probation on Nov. 20.
Verdicts on petty crimes drew public rage in the wake of powerful
suspected criminals untouched by the law. ANTARA/Idhad
Various
aspects of the law have been dominant in 2009. Not a day has passed
without the mass media putting legal issues in the headlines.
Unfortunately, as the law came under the spotlight and became an important
issue for Indonesia,
the public found themselves disappointed with the legal system. A
workable, credible and just legal system has become a challenge faced
by the government and legal institutions. The cases of Bibit Samad
Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, two Corruption Eradication Commission
(KPK) leaders, prompted mistrust and distrust from the public in the due
process of law. The police investigation was believed to have been engineered.
Earlier,
the public were concerned over the case of Prita Mulyasari, when she
was arrested for airing her grievances at hospital treatment she had
received. Sadly, she was charged with a crime. In addition, the
hospital filed a lawsuit resulting in the High Court ordering Prita to
pay the hospital compensation of Rp 204 million (US$21,600).
An elderly woman, Minah, was convicted for stealing three cacao fruits from a
plantation. The court gave her a suspended
sentence of one and a half months in prison.
Another
case in Kediri involved Kholil and Basar Suyanto, accused of stealing
watermelons. The two have been detained by the police and then by the
prosecutor.
All
these cases prove that a credible and just legal system is badly needed
in Indonesia. The public suspect the legal process is engineered or
unjust.
There are many causes that can be identified as the sources of the legal system
malfunction.
First,
widespread corruption and bribery practices within the legal
institutions have been considered as one of the main sources. This was
demonstrated when the Constitutional Court played the recording of
Anggodo’s wiretapped conversations.
Second,
there are rampant corruption practices among our — individual — legal
officers. As this individual holds power and authority, the individual
can use such power for his or her own interests.
These two sources have led to the abuse of power.
Then
there is the legal mafia. Those who should be convicted can be freed or
sentenced lightly. But those who are innocent may be convicted. All
this can be arranged through the legal mafia.
Last,
when regulations are in conflict with what is, according to society,
just, regulations prevail in the eyes of legal officers. This
contradicts society’s view of justice.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
has recognized this as a national problem and has committed himself to
improving the legal system. He considers the effort to be a landmark,
the making of history. Indeed, transforming the legal system into a
workable, credible and just legal system is shaping history for
Indonesia.
It
should be recognized, however, that the problems plaguing the legal
system have been made worse by the difficulties caused by statutes
passed in 2009. Most statutes were passed without the substance being
given careful consideration. They were passed without ascertaining
their implementation. What mattered most was that parliament could meet
its target of number of statutes passed.
Even worse, the new statutes were often in conflict with other statutes. This
created more legal uncertainty.
In
addition, legislation passed by the central government is too
Jakarta-centric; Jakarta-centric because it can be enforced in Jakarta
or in other big cities, but not in other places in Indonesia.
Furthermore, central government legislation can easily be waived by regional
governments. Regional governments can easily disregard higher
legislation, even- though this contradicts legal theory and legislation.
To make things even more complicated, many statutes do not yet have regulations
for implementation.
Nevertheless,
against the above backdrop, one aspect of the law which can be
appreciated is public awareness of the law. The exposure of legal
issues in the media has helped the public to understand the intricacies
of the law.
Looking
at 2010, the government is still facing a huge amount of work. The main
challenge is how to transform the legal system into a workable,
credible and just system.
In order to overcome the challenge, there are a number of things that have to
be done in 2010.
First,
the government has to be persistent in its efforts to combat
corruption, with emphasis given to eradicating corruption within the
legal institutions. In this context, the government’s program to combat
the legal mafia should be realized.
Next
is to encourage the best human resources to fill the legal
institutions. Employing the best and most capable human resources by
attracting the best graduates from the best law schools, coupled with the high
integrity of individuals is an important step toward creating a credible legal
system.
This
can only be achieved if the welfare of legal officers is improved
significantly. If welfare were not a priority, it would not be
difficult to attract the best graduates to enter the legal
institutions. In the current situation, top graduates veer away from
working in the legal institutions, so only mediocre candidates populate
their halls, which results in authority being traded for money.
Hence,
if the government fails to improve the welfare of legal officers, the
government will prolong corruption within legal institutions.
For
such reasons, the budget allocated for developing legal institutions
and human resources in 2010 should be significantly increased.
In order to attract the best people, it is also essential to solve the problem
at recruitment level. Bribery and other corrupt practices to enter the legal
institutions should be eradicated.
On
the issue of making the legal system just, legal officers should take
justice rather than regulations more into consideration. They cannot
merely use regulations to punish without gi-ving justice any
consideration.
Last,
the government should make efforts to further promote society’s
awareness of the law. The government has to find ways to make
Indonesian society shift from a non-legally minded society to a legally
minded society.
All these
will be tasks for the government in 2010. They are critical and crucial.
The
government should not lose the momentum to make a workable, credible
and just legal system as Indonesia enters the next phase of its
development. A sound and solid legal system is a prerequisite for every
aspect of life in modern Indonesian society.
It
should be borne in mind, however, governments do not act quickly. The
public has to be patient when the legal system is at stake. An
indication that the government is making strenuous efforts to fix the
problem is more than enough.
The
government, of course, should seek support from the public and from
foreign investors in its endeavor to improve the legal system day by
day, and year by year.
The writer is a professor of law at the University of Indonesia.
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