Category Archives: corruption

August 1, 2012 · 01:59

Follow the money (Indonesia)

A short but interesting article in The Jakarta Post:

Judges’ financial transactions to be tracked

(30/07/2012) The Judicial Commission said it would use data from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) to asses the performance of judges in the country.

Deputy chairman of the Judicial Commission, Imam Anshori Saleh, said that the commission would launch investigations against any judges who had suspicious transactions in their bank accounts.

“This is part of our efforts to maintain the integrity of judges,” Imam said as quoted by kompas.com.

The commission has signed a deal with the PPATK under which the former can obtain the financial records of all the judges in the country.

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Filed under corruption, indonesia, judicial commission

April 27, 2012 · 20:39

Judicial Corruption Inquiry (Myanmar/Burma)

It seems once more the Hluttaw is moving to reform Myanmar’s justice sector where the judges themselves cannot or will not. According to Irrawaddy, the Judicial Committee, formed last September, has already received 500 complaints from citizens about the abuse in the courts. On Tuesday, the lower house (Pyithu Hluttaw) passed a law granting the committee with the power to investigate these complaints.

We also got an interesting glimmer into the relationship between the judiciary and parliament. While not quite as testy as that between the Philippine Congress and Supreme Court (see here), it’s clear the Myanmar Supreme Court doesn’t entirely welcome the Hluttaw’s proposal. According to Irrawaddy:

Thein Nyunt, a respected MP and lawyer, said, “I rejected the presentation of the Union Supreme Court Judge which could undermine the core meaning of the [investigation powers] proposal, and all the MPs supported my views.”

As I’ve mentioned before, I think the Hluttaw is taking the right approach. It’s important to reform the courts before granting them independence. However, from the proposal currently on the table, it appears the Judicial Commission will focus on “naming and shaming” judges, but will lack enforcement powers. This can still be quite effective if done right. Singapore is infamous for using public humiliation as a punishment.

However, it’s not clear this strategy will work without a free media. In one of the few articles to look at judicial accountability, Stefan Voigt (2008) argues that media freedom encourages judicial accountability by exposing corrupt practices in court. With a free media and open hearings, journalists can sit in on cases and report on the progress of the case. While Myanmar’s media is becoming freer, it isn’t quite yet free enough, particularly for journalists to report on big judicial corruption cases. Also, a free press will be needed to press the Judicial Commission on its investigations and make the guardian of the guardians accountable.

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Filed under Burma, corruption, Myanmar

March 23, 2012 · 15:15

The MK lends an assist

A few weeks ago I posted a news article in which Indonesia’s Supreme Court and KPK agreed on a corruption case – no small news. Now, the Constitutional Case has supported the Supreme Court’s decision in another corruption case – this time dismissing a challenge against the constitutionality of the prosecutor’s appeal when a corruption defendant was acquitted. Read more in The Jakarta Post.

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Filed under corruption, indonesia, Mahkamah Konstitusi, Supreme Court

March 8, 2012 · 02:13

Supreme Court and KPK: together again

Indonesia’s Supreme Court and the Anti-Corruption Commission haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. However, the KPK recently won a victory when the Supreme Court convicted Bekasi Mayor Mochtar Mohammad to six years in prison and fined him Rp 300 million for graft. Mochtar had been the first defendant in the corruption court system ever acquitted. According to The Jakarta Post, last November the Bandung Corruption Court in West Java acquitted Mochtar. However, suspicions were raised because one of the corruption court judges, Ramlan Comel, was himself sentenced to two years in jail for corruption. The Supreme Court’s decision restores the KPK’s 100% conviction rate.

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Filed under corruption, indonesia, Supreme Court

November 7, 2011 · 15:42

"It’s not my fault!"

In responding to the recent spate of acquittals by Indonesia’s regional corruption courts, Chief Justice Mahfud echoed Han Solo from Star Wars by proclaiming that the Constitutional Court was not to blame. According to The Jakarta Post, Chief Justice Mahfud clarified that the Court’s 2006 decision finding the central Corruption Court in Jakarta unconstitutional was not an invitation to establish regional corruption courts. The chief justice described the regional corruption court judges as tending “to acquit corruptors. They think corruption is something normal.” Ultimately, he recommended that they be dissolved and a return to a centralized corruption court in Jakarta.

I admit I haven’t followed the details of all of these acquitted cases, but it’s always struck me as odd that Indonesians view the Corruption Commission’s (KPK) nearly 100% conviction rate as not only normal but good. While the KPK surely filters cases to find the strongest ones, it’s still hard to believe that it wins EVERY time. The numbers appear almost Stalinist. Indeed, some commentators have questioned whether the courts aren’t simply punishing bad judgment calls in some cases. Of course, an acquittal of a guilty defendant is nothing to praise, but it also might be time to rethink that 100% conviction rate.

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Filed under corruption, indonesia