Jakarta – The Indonesian government is shifting two-thirds of the judges in Jakarta to other courts outside the island of Java in response to public pressure and criticism of some court rulings.

The massive reshuffle is set to affect 50 to 60 per cent of judges throughout Jakarta, including all the chiefs and deputies in the capital's five district courts.

Law and Legislation Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Wednesday the move was the start of major reform in the country's judicial system. He said the massive rotations would start in a matter of weeks.

Since the advent of the reform era, the judicial system has been one of the areas most highlighted for reform. Mr Yusril also admitted that the mass rotations were partly due to strong public pressure and criticism over numerous court rulings.

"Some critics might say that such a measure is useless as the judges are not the only ones to blame, but rather it is the system which has been corrupt all this time," he said.

But he defended the move, saying the reassignment of judges and replacement of court executives outside Java were part of long- term measures planned by his office and the Supreme Court to improve the quality of judges and court rulings.

However, deputies in the Central Jakarta and East Jakarta courts would remain an additional three months in their current postings. This was to allow them to tutor their replacements as these courts often presided over more complex cases that intertwined criminal and civil jurisdictional lines.

Commenting on judges in Jakarta, Mr Yusril said the government had set a maximum age limit of 40 years for them. "The younger they are, the better they perform," said the 44-year-old minister.

He also said his office would allow independent watchdogs to oversee the performance of the new judges in Jakarta. The mass rotation is expected to affect courts in major cities across the country.