Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis on Friday attended a hearing held by the Association of Indonesian Advocates (Peradi) over his alleged violation of the legal code of ethics.
Alex R. Wanggi, a member of Peradi’s honors council who presided over the hearing, said the council heard lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea’s statement on an alleged ethics violation by Todung.
“He reported an alleged ethics violation, and because this is a closed hearing, we cannot divulge any other details on the substance of the matter,” he said after the session, held at Plaza Kebon Sirih in Central Jakarta.
Todung of South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, served as head of the Legal Aid Institute in Jakarta from 1980 to 1983. Since 1984, he has headed the Legal Aid Institute Foundation, the umbrella organization of all legal aid offices in Indonesia.
He is also an advisor for the International Human Rights Advocate in Berkeley and the vice chairman of the Regional Council on Human Rights in Indonesia.
An outspoken opponent of former president Soeharto’s New Order regime, Todung is widely regarded as one of the nation’s fiercest fighters of corruption. He was a member of the team of law experts set up by the government in 2002 to identify which former bank owners were uncooperative about paying the US$10 billion of Bank of Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds owed to the state.
Todung, who left Peradi’s office at 3:30 p.m., refused to comment on the hearing.
Hotman said he could not comment on the contents of the hearing, or whether the matter was connected to the BLBI case, which had been dropped recently by the Attorney General’s Office.
Alex said any public statement would be given after decisions had been made concerning the allegation.
“There are four stages to the hearing. First is today’s agenda, which is the report from the plaintiff and the response from the accused. Second is providing evidence, third is the examination of the materials, and finally the conclusion,” he said.
Peradi could strip a lawyer of advocate status if he or she is proven to have violated the code of ethics. (anw)
