Tempo Magazine
January 22-28, 2002
Special Report
Human Rights Court
Tough Battle Ahead
The president has recently appointed eighteen ad hoc Human Rights judges.
Can Indonesia's Court of Human Rights function objectively and
independently from the International Court of Justice?
Indonesia is endeavoring to improve its human rights record. Last week,
President Megawati Sukarnoputri appointed 18 adhoc Human Rights judges
to
preside over cases involving crimes against humanity. Twelve of the judges
were appointed to the court of first instance. The other six were appointed
to the court of appeal. The panel of ad hoc judges comprises practicing
judges and professors from various national universities.
This panel will shortly be officially inaugurated and assigned to positions
at the Central Jakarta District Court. Each judge will receive a basic
monthly salary of Rp1 million (US$100 at Rp10,000 to the US dollar) and
Rp4.5 million (US$450) for each case they preside over. Hotel and
transportation costs whilst in Jakarta for judges originating from the
provinces will be borne by the government.
In February, the panel of ad hoc Human Rights judges will preside over
its
first case-the post-referendum crimes against humanity committed in East
Timor in 1999. Following this, the panel will hear the human rights abuses
committed in Tanjungpriok, North Jakarta in 1984. Unfortunately, no
investigations have previously been conducted into either the Tanjungpriok
case or the East Timor case. Both may be classified as crimes of genocide.
The appointment of the panel of 18 ad hoc Human Rights judges is not
free
from controversy. Although many people are hopeful that the appointment
of
the judges will improve Indonesia's international image by illustrating
its
commitment to uphold human rights, many people are critical of the development.
Legal practitioner and human rights advocate T. Mulya Lubis says that
the
selection of ad hoc judges was premature. According to Mulya, "there
are
many holes". For example, one of the appointed ad hoc judges, Hendra
Nurtjahyo, is only 33 years old. The Law on the Indonesian Court of Human
Rights of 2000 stipulates that the minimum age of prospective ad hoc judges
is 45. Hendra, a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of
Indonesia (UI) has since resigned from his posting.
Bambang Widjojanto, former chairman of Indonesian Legal Aid, expressed
similar criticism. According to him, the rushed appointment of the panel
of
ad hoc judges made it difficult for the selection committee to inspect
their resumes. Bambang also claims that "[the judges] training as
prospective ad hoc judges was very short".
Todung Mulya Lubis has pointed out another issue of contention. According
to Mulya, ad hoc judge Rudi M. Rizki from the University of Padjadjaran
in
Bandung, had previously worked under the former defense minister and
military commander-in-chief, Gen, Wiranto. Wiranto has been linked to
the
post-referendum crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999.
In
fact, many of the human rights cases tried by the panel of ad hoc judges
will involve Indonesian Military officers. "Rudi Rizki could be biased
when
presiding over the East Timor human rights abuse case," suggests
Mulya.
Several other ad hoc judges may also find it difficult to remain objective.
One such judge, Binsar Gultom, is currently posted at the Bogor District
Court. Formerly, Binsar was posted at the Dili District Court and Manatuto
District Court in East Timor.
Binsar Gultom and other judges posted in East Timor undoubtedly have
different political approaches than the Indonesian government. In view
of
this, Bonar Tigor Naispospos from the Solidarity for East Timorese People
(Solidamor) has requested that Binsar be dropped from presiding over the
East Timor case.
Another judge to have been criticized is appeal court ad hoc judge, I
Gede
Gusti Sukarata. According to Solidamor, Sukarata has a smeared record
concerning human rights enforcement. Sukarata formerly ruled in favor
of
former Indonesian Democratic Party Chairman Soerjadi, facing a lawsuit
from
victims of the PDI riots in July 27, 1996. "Clearly, he is not beyond
powerful intervention," says Bonar.
However, chairman of the selection team for ad hoc Human Rights judges
from
the Supreme Court, Benjamin Mangkoedilaga, rejects the above criticisms
as
premature. According to Mangkoedilaga, such criticism deems the panel
of ad
hoc judges incompetent, even before they commence their duties.
For Benjamin, the most important factor in bringing crimes against human
rights to trial is the district attorney's charges. If the district
attorney's indictment is complete and penetrating, the judge will surely
find it difficult to conspire with the defendant. The Court of Human Rights
will be open to the public, so judicial decisions are open to public scrutiny.
The above issues are technical. What about the ability and courage of
ad
hoc judges to take action on crimes against humanity? The existing
legislation on human rights in Indonesia is arguably sufficient. Therefore,
Indonesia's commitment to upholding human rights will depend on the quality
of law enforcers-both judges and state prosecutors-as well as the
commitment of the government in taking action against violations of human
rights.
In the meantime, several of the ad hoc judges criticized have kept a
low
profile. "Just wait. We will give you the best possible results,"
said
Binsar. Rizki was more outspoken in rejecting accusations that he actively
helped Wiranto. "My position at that time was only as a passive assistant
to Professor Muladi," said Rizki. An active contributor to the Habibie
Center, Rizki has promised to prove that he can adjudicate independently.
Wens Manggut, Hani Pudjiarti, Dwi Arjanto