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 Zakaria
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.
