ICW worries House will taint Corruption Court Bill

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) claims it is possible for the Corruption Court Bill to be passed into law by September; however, the watchdog agency fears it will be ''tainted'' from politicking.

“Based on our monitoring efforts, it is undeniable that some House of Representatives members and the government have attempted to undermine this bill, which strives to eradicate corruption,” ICA coordinator on law and judicial system monitoring, Illian Deta Artasari, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

“While they might pass the bill into law before the end of the House term in September, it will be intrinsically flawed. On the other hand, they could fail to pass the bill, and if that happens, it will be absolutely apparent that House legislators are unwilling to pass the bill in the first place,” she added.

A ruling from the Constitutional Court in 2006 stipulated that the Corruption Court violated the 1945 Constitution because it was established under the KPK law, instead of the law on judicial powers.

The Constitutional Court ruled that a new law on the Corruption Court must be passed by December 2009 or the court would lose its legal standing.

Illian said the last hope for the bill to be passed now lies in the hands of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. “The president must issue a regulation-in-lieu of law to save the bill. However, he must also be reminded not to pass the bill proposal submitted by the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, because their proposal exhibits major flaws that hinder corruption eradication,” she said.

“For example, the ministry’s proposal does not firmly stipulate the types of Corruption Court judges. The current Corruption Court law clearly stipulates that the proportion of judges ought to be three ad-hoc and two career judges,” she added.

ICW's recent report showed that career judges, who are in charge of handling corruption cases at district courts, have a lower rate than ad-hoc judges at the Corruption Court of sending corruption suspects to jail. The report showed that the Corruption Court incarcerated close to 100 percent of its corruption suspects.

Separately, House speaker Agung Laksono said he believed that even if legislators failed to pass the bill into law, the district courts would continue a sustained effort against corruption.

“Most of the legislators also tend to reject the possibility of the president issuing a regulation-in-lieu of law,” he said.

 Illian claimed that Agung’s remarks did not make any sense.

“Facts show that around 50 percent of corruption suspects were freed by the district courts. Those who were punished also receive very light sentences, with some receiving mere probation.

“With that in mind, how can we say that district courts have the integrity to handle corruption cases?” she added. (hdt)