Anita Rachman – The Judicial Commission could soon have the authority to demand the tapping of the phones of errant judges after the House of Representatives voiced its approval of the proposed measure.

Tjatur Sapto Edy, the head of the House working committee tasked with deliberating amendments to the 2004 Judicial Commission Law, said on Tuesday that both the House and the government had agreed to strengthen the body and give it more authority to police the country's judges.

"Under the proposed amendments, the Judicial Commission can request a wiretap from law enforcement institutions on the phones [of judges implicated in ethical violations]," he said. "It will get full access to all information obtained from such taps."

He said the amendments were scheduled for passage at a plenary session of the House on Thursday. Before then, the working committee is expected to meet with Justice Minister Patrialis Akbar one final time to discuss the provisions, but Tjatur said there would likely not be any changes made in the meeting.

Under the amendments, the Judicial Commission would have to provide strong evidence of violations by the judges in question before it could seek a wiretap from either the police or the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The commission would also be required to inform the judge's court about the wiretap request – a requirement that legislator Eva Kusuma Sundari conceded could be counterproductive to what would be essentially a sting operation.

However, she said there would be an ethics council to monitor the entire process and ensure that courts did not try to intervene or tip off the judges to the request.

Eva said that the strong evidence required to seek a wiretap would help assure that innocent judges would not be spied upon. "We've opened the door to the Judicial Commission to better carry out its mandate," she said.

Judicial and antigraft activists have long called for the commission to be given greater powers to investigate and punish errant judges, including those suspected of taking bribes in return for favorable rulings or handing down unreasonably light or heavy sentences.