Restoring the Public’s Trust

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Lawyer Lucas is seen at a trial session at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Thursday, Feb 28. Lucas has been charged with attempting to hinder an investigation into alleged bribery in the Central Jakarta District Court on behalf of the defendant Eddy Sindoro. During the trial, Lucas chose not to answer the questions of the public prosecutor.

A survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) and Indonesia Corruption Watch at the end of 2018 found that 70 percent of people surveyed trusted the court system. The public’s trust in the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country, was below 70 percent. The most trusted institutions in the country were the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the President, with scores of 84 percent and 85 percent, respectively.

At a judicial administration and technical meeting in Jakarta in March last year, Supreme Court chief justice Hatta Ali called on all court institutions to continue to restore the public’s trust. According to data from Poltracking and Kompas’ R&D in 2017, the public’s trust in the court has shown improvement. The judiciary was also not included in the 10 most corrupt institutions, as reported by ICW at the end of 2018.

Openness is the key to improving the public’s trust in the judiciary. Transparency can be promoted through the use of information technology. The Supreme Court and the lower courts actually have for a long time used information technology, including computerization and digitalization to promote openness. However, some of the efforts did not run as expected.

The Supreme Court has also cooperated with non-governmental institutions to make the judiciary more open. On various occasions, the chief justice of the Supreme Court has repeatedly reminded the country’s judicial institutions to facilitate the public’s access to information. If people can easily follow the development of their cases, the effort to create an honest and dignified judiciary system can be more easily realized. The public’s perception and trust in the judicial institutions has also improved.

According to a 2018 report by the Judicial Commission, which oversees the behavior of judges, it was recommended that 63 judges be handed sanctions. The figure is relatively low when compared to the country’s 8,000 judges.

When delivering its annual report in Jakarta on Thursday, the Supreme Court chief justice mentioned the use of information technology and the modernization of work processes and the delivery of public services in the country’s judiciary system. The number of delayed cases continues to decrease. In 2018, the Supreme Court handled 17,351 cases and by Dec. 21, only 791 cases had not been concluded. This figure is fewer than the 1,388 cases in 2017.

The Latin proverb justitia est ius suum cuique tribuere (Justice renders to everyone his due). The effort of the Supreme Court to modernize itself, and become more open, indeed deserves appreciation. President Joko Widodo has expressed hope the Supreme Court’s adoption of a technology based approach could support development and economic growth. However, the main task of the court to realize justice for everyone should not be forgotten. If the Supreme Court and the lower courts are able to bring justice, undoubtedly there will be greater public trust.