Jakarta – The Institute for Research and Advocacy for Independent Courts (LeIP) is set to hold the first Indonesian Judicial Reform Forum (IJRF), scheduled for Jan. 15 to Jan. 16, 2018.
Indonesia's court system has undergone changes since the start of the Reform Era in 1998, but it remains plagued by wide-ranging problems, from long case backlogs to corrupt judges.
The institute hopes that the forum will be a biennial event that provides important feedback to the Indonesian judiciary, LeIP researcher Liza Farihah told The Jakarta Post on Monday. "There have been several law summits in the past, but the focus has been very narrow," she said.
In contrast, the IJRF will hold eight panels on topics ranging from jurisprudence and transparency to corrupt practices. The forum will also feature panelists from the Netherlands' Constitutional Court and Australia's Judicial Commission.
LeIP is holding several pre-event discussions in the lead-up to the forum. In the first of these, held on Monday, the institute invited journalists to share the problems they faced in covering the courts. Chief among the problems was the Supreme Court's perceived lack of openness toward the press.
In the coming weeks, LeIP will also conduct discussions with other non-governmental organizations and donor organizations. The results of the discussions will be further evaluated in the IJRF and will then be compiled into a set of recommendations.
"After the forum, we will compile everything that was discussed and formulate recommendations that we will submit to the Supreme Court and related government bodies," said Liza. (kmt/ebf)