[Kabar-indonesia] Indonesian judges permitted to accept gifts: 'one boxed cake or one batik'

[Joyo at aol.com]

Paras Indonesia
June 23 2006

Law

Having Their Cake & Eating It

By Roy Tupai 

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has banned
state officials from accepting gifts, but the Supreme
Court has decided that judges are allowed to accept
presents, provided they are in the form of cakes or
batik fabric.

Although Indonesia remains one of the world's most
corrupt countries, with a notoriously crooked
judiciary, several measures have been taken to curb
bribery. Following the inception of KPK in 2002,
officials have not been allowed to ask for or receive
gifts, parcels or tributes in any form. But bribery
within the courts remains a sick reality.

Under Law No.30/2002 on the KPK, state officials are
obliged to report to the commission any
gifts/donations that are received unearned or without
recompense. KPK will then decide whether the recipient
can keep the gift or whether it should be seized by
the state.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan, who has long
been tainted by dubious rulings and allegations of
corruption, on May 30 signed a booklet of conduct
guidelines for judges, stating that cakes and batik
are acceptable gifts.

"Gifts in the form of one boxed cake or one normal
batik cloth, given by a plaintiff even before a case
has been settled, are not included in the gifts that
must be refused. Such refusal will only hurt the
feelings of the giver," says the entry on page nine of
the booklet.

The 36-page booklet comprises four chapters detailing
11 separate guidelines for the conduct of judges.

The idea of the booklet was first raised at a limited
national working meeting of the Supreme Court over
September 25-29, 2002, in the East Java capital of
Surabaya. It was eventually completed last month and
then endorsed by Manan. An honor council of judges
subsequently ratified the publication on June 15,
2006, describing it as a worthy guide to improve the
supervision system for judges.

The 11 conduct guidelines cover the topics of: just
conduct; honesty; prudence and judicious conduct;
independence; high integrity; responsibility;
upholding high self-esteem; high discipline; modest
conduct; having a professional attitude; and a judge
must give information to authorities with the
supervision of other judges.

The last one looks like a warning to judges not to
blow the whistle on corruption. The bit about cakes
and batik gifts is covered under the guideline on
honesty.

Fancy cakes in five-star hotels can cost up to
Rp500,000, while quality batik measuring 1.5 by 2.5
meters can sell for up to Rp3 million ($320) in
Indonesia, while lower quality batik can sell for $120
abroad.

It's doubtful that a cake and piece of fancy fabric
would be enough to sway a verdict, but the fact that
Manan is encouraging judges to accept gifts from
plaintiffs is utterly despicable. His endorsement of
small gifts may well motivate judges to have their
underlings accept much more valuable gifts, such as
large sums of money, which can be transferred to
third-party accounts.

Manan was due to have retired this October, when he
will turn 65 - the mandatory retirement age for
judges. But he last year extended the retirement age
to 67, which means he is now due to resign on October
6, 2008.

He has been strongly criticized this year for refusing
to testify in a trial centered on allegations that he
was involved in the payment of a Rp6 billion bribe by
former dictator Suharto's half-brother Probosutedjo to
the Supreme Court. With Manan a no-show, prosecutors
this week recommended that Probosutedjo's lawyer
Harini Wijoso be sentenced to eight years behind bars
for attempting to bribe him.

Critics have demanded Manan be replaced, citing his
refusal to cooperate with KPK and the Judicial
Commission, which were set up in an effort eliminate
institutional graft.

Former justice minister Muladi, who now serves as
governor of the National Resilience Institute, on
Thursday (22/6/06) said the animosity between the
Judicial Commission and the Supreme Court could be
easily resolved if Manan would agree to testify in the
bribery trial of Probosutedjo's lawyer.

"As a citizen Bagir is obliged to come to the court
when called as a witness, and he could face criminal
action if he does not want to appear," Muladi was
quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.

He said one of the Indonesian judiciary's main
problems is poor leadership. "This leadership problem
is so obvious that that the people are embarrassed
community to see the feud between the Supreme Court
and Judicial Commission," he added.

Muladi has long aspired to become chief justice of the
Supreme Court and attacking Manan may be one means of
achieving his goal. Former president Abdurrahman 'Gus
Dur' Wahid in 2000 rejected Muladi's nomination for
the position on the grounds that he was a remnant of
the Suharto regime. He also opposed Manan's nomination
on the same grounds but was eventually forced to
accept him as the lesser of two evils.

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Can't Get No Gratification

Following is an unofficial translation of the sections
of the KPK Law on the legality of gifts
(gratifications) for state officials.

Article 16

Each civil servant or government executive who have
accepted gratification is obliged to inform the KPK,
in the manner outlined as follows:

a. The report shall be delivered in writing in the
format of a KPK Reporting Form, along with the
document connected to the gratification.

b. The form as mentioned in (a) shall at least
contain:

1) the full name and address of the party offering the
gratification, and of the party receiving the
gratification;

2) the office of the civil servant or the government
executive;

3) the place and time the acceptance of the
gratification occurred;

4) a description of the gratification received; and

5) the value of the gratification received.

Article 17

(1) The KPK, within 30 days of receiving a report on
gratification, must decide on the status of the
ownership of gratification, along with further
considerations.

(2) When deciding the ownership status of
gratification as meant by the previous sub-article (1)
the KPK may summon the receiver of gratification to
provide information related to the acceptance of
gratification.

(3) The ownership status of gratification as outlined
in sub-article (1) is to be decided by the
Commissioners of the KPK.

(4) The decision of the Commissioners of the KPK as
outlined in article (3) could be in the form of
deciding upon the ownership status of gratification
for the receiver of gratification, or that the
gratification will be annexed by the State.

(5) The KPK is obliged to convey the decision on the
ownership status of gratification as outlined in
Article 4 to the receiver of gratification at the
latest seven days since the date the decision has
made.

(6) Any gratification annexed by the State must be
delivered at the latest seven days since the decision
to annex was made.

Article 18

The KPK is obliged to declare any gratification that
has been annexed by the state at least once a year in
the State News.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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