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Lawyers run for lives, danger lurks in courts
In the courthouses of Jakarta, lawyers have fired of the question: Just how safe are houses of justice? "There is a certain skill that a lawyer should have, to run fast," a lawyer Budi Setiawan said mockingly
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In the courthouses of Jakarta, lawyers have fired of the question: Just how safe are houses of justice?
"There is a certain skill that a lawyer should have, to run fast," a lawyer Budi Setiawan said mockingly.
"In the handling of some cases, lawyers have to constantly look over their shoulders to make sure they are not under attack," he added.
"The judges have people to protect them, but the lawyers and prosecutors have nobody."
His colleague, Arifin Daulay, agreed. "Running is the only way to save our lives," Arifin told The Jakarta Post at the West Jakarta District Court recently.
"Nothing much has changed here since 1980. The building may be new, but the security remains the same," Arifin added.
He said he wished the court had more security officers who performed stricter security checks on visitors.
Hasril Hertanto, the head of Indonesian Judicial Watch Society, an NGO formed by the faculty of law at the University of Indonesia, also said the courts lacked security officers.
"Courts are responsible for ensuring that proceedings run smoothly, but they seem to lack the funding required to have enough security officers," Hasril said.
"Now the prosecutors are in charge of security for defendants and the police are in charge of the rest. But there is a limit to what the police can do."
The Central Jakarta District Court outsources their security needs, but this only provides short-term relief and not long-term solutions, Hasril said.
He said the court should have their own marshal, like the courts in Singapore, Malaysia and the United States.
Currently, the National Police have put regional police forces in charge of security at district courts, he said.
Meanwhile, he added, the Supreme Court, which oversees all courts in Indonesia, handed the responsibility to individual courts even though there were funds allocated in the Supreme Court budget for security.
The bigger problem, Hasril said, was the court's failure to maintain the public's respect and trust as a result of the weak implementation of disciplinary rules, unsuitable courthouse design and corruption.
"In other countries, such as our neighbors Singapore and Malaysia, the court is seen as a dignified institute. People respect the proceedings and the judges. The officers take stern actions against any disturbances," he said.
He urged judges to take tougher action against visitors who disrupted court proceedings and for security officers to perform more thorough checks.
"The proceedings should be open to the public. People may enter, but they must not cause any disturbances. According to the law, judges have the power to remove or detain people disrupting proceedings."
The design of courthouses throughout Jakarta has affected the efficiency of court proceeding, with judges afforded little privacy.
"Judges have to pass everyone to reach the courtroom. That makes people think that judges are just like them and it reduces the dignified image that judges should have. Also, people are granted easy access to the judges' rooms," he said.
"Judges should have their own access and be separated from the public."
The size of the courtroom is also a problem.
Budi, who has practiced law for 10 years, said some courtrooms were so small that there was little room between the defendants, the panel of judges and the public.
"Sometimes defendants sit with the public. Sometimes the room gets so crowded that people start becoming irritated. Plus if conflict breaks out, there is little room to move and get away."
-- JP/Mariani Dewi
