Amir Tejo & Aidi Yursal – Eradicating the so-called "judicial mafia" is high on the government's to-do list. But anybody who knows the extent of the underground arrangements being made within the justice system – and how intricate the network of people involved is – will be the first to say there's plenty of work to be done.
To carry out illicit negotiations for favorable decisions in court, the network relies on a handful of people – judges, lawyers, private citizens acting as go-betweens and government officials.
But according to the Surabaya Legal Aid Institution (LBH), it all starts when a case is first registered.
"Once you register a case, you are offered two choices – the regular process or what is called 'the fast lane,'?" LBH Surabaya director Syaiful Atis said on Thursday. "Naturally, the fast lane is more expensive."
He said lawyers would then meet with the head of the court to negotiate over which judge would hear the case. "If it's a 'wet case,' like one that involves corruption, the heads of the court usually handle it," Syaiful said.
A verdict could be negotiated through the prosecutor, Syaiful said. At times, however, a judge would directly ask the defendant for money in exchange for a favorable decision.
"When the trial begins, the prosecutor will ask the defendant not to use the court-appointed lawyer, because the verdict can be negotiated," Syaiful said."
Normally, Syaiful added, a judge gives a sign that he or she is open to bargaining with the defendant. "Postponing the verdict, or delaying the announcement of a verdict, those are usually signs that a defendant can contact the judge and start negotiating," he said.
The Judicial Commission (KY) said that to stop the judicial mafia, it was necessary to find out the mafia's connections within the National Police and the Attorney General's Office.
Hermansyah, a veteran staff member at the commission, said that since the KY was established in 2005, it has received more than 6,000 reports complaining about corrupt judges. The commission has deployed several police-trained staff members to investigate judges, "but despite all the reports, only one judge has been forced out of his job," Hermansyah said
Alamsyah Hamdani, a former director of the Legal Aid Foundation in Medan, said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's promise to eradicate the judicial mafia – whose operations are rooted in the New Order era – would be difficult to realize.
He said that as long as defendants were willing to pay millions in exchange for favorable verdicts, there would be judges and lawyers willing to sell justice to the highest bidder.
Alamsyah, a member of the North Sumatra Legislative Council, said injustice continued to prevail in the courts, citing the recent case of an illiterate grandmother from Central Java who was given a suspended sentenced for stealing three pieces of cocoa fruit from a tree that belonged to a huge plantation. Alamsyah called the verdict in the woman's case a "travesty."