Corruption is not something that is unique to Indonesia or any one state in the world. Nevertheless, the Indonesian government recognizes that corruption is a problem and took measures to address the problem with the passage of the Law on the Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi / KPK). Law No. 30 of 2002 not only established the KPK but also established a Corruption Court based in the Central Jakarta District Court.
The 2002 law was subject to judicial review at the Constitutional Court. The Court in Decision No. 012-016-019/PUU-IV/2006 held that the law breached constitutional provisions that mandated that a special court be established under a specific law of its own and not part of any other legislation instrument. Therefore, the provisions contained in Articles 53 though 62 were held to be in breach of the prevailing norms of the Constitution, and the expected standards of legislation drafting in this instance.
Interestingly, the Court provided the government a three-year window of opportunity to draft and enact a specific piece of legislation to establish the new Corruption Court. The government after a long and tortuous process managed to get Law No. 46 of 2009 on the Corruption Court passed during the final throes of the recently departed House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat / DPR). A new DPR was sworn in towards the end of October 2009 after general elections earlier in the year.
The new Law sets out a rather mammoth undertaking in terms of both the establishment of facilities and the recruiting of staff. The Corruption Court is a specialized court under the auspices of the Supreme Court. This is a mammoth undertaking because the law stipulates that there is to be a corruption court established within every District Court throughout Indonesia. For example, this means that within the greater Jakarta area there will be five courts established at the Central, East, West, North, and South Jakarta District Courts.
The law is clear that the establishment process is to be phased. The initial focus will be in establishing at least one Corruption Court at the provincial level. This is court is expected to be established in the capital city of the respective provinces. Yet, it would seem clear that the establishment of courts beyond this initial step will be heavily dependent on the availability of resources, particularly human resources. The law, at Article 35(4), requires that this initial phase be completed no later than two years after the enactment of this legislation. In essence, all Corruption Courts at the provincial level must be established no later than 29 October 2011.
The human resources are a critical component of the law as the provisions mandate the appointment of both career and ad hoc judges to the courts. The appointment of career judges may not be too problematic with respect to numbers. However, the handling of corruption cases is not always a simple criminal matter. Corruption cases quite often involve complex financial transactions which require specialized skills, knowledge, and expertise. These elements may not be so readily available within the current ranks of the career judges.
The procedural law that is to apply in the corruption courts is the criminal procedural law as contained in Law No. 8 of 1981. However, the law also makes special mention of procedural requirements that are contained in Law No. 31 of 1999 as amended by Law No. 20 of 2001 and Law No. 14 of 1985 as amended by Law No. 3 of 2009. Nevertheless, the law also makes explicit mention of wiretapping within the context of corruption matters. The issue of wiretapping by the KPK has been a controversial issue since it was first permitted. And, there was serious discussion about removing the wiretapping powers that the KPK has. Removing these powers and wiretapping as a form of evidence would undoubtedly be detrimental to the successful prosecution of corrupters.
In order to avoid the need to restart current corruption cases before the corruption court established under Law No 30 of 2002, the law stipulates that these cases are to be heard and finalized in accordance with the relevant laws.
Corruption is not something that is unique to Indonesia or any one state in the world. Nevertheless, the Indonesian government recognizes that corruption is a problem and took measures to address the problem with the passage of the Law on the Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi / KPK). Law No. 30 of 2002 not only established the KPK but also established a Corruption Court based in the Central Jakarta District Court.
The 2002 law was subject to judicial review at the Constitutional Court. The Court in Decision No. 012-016-019/PUU-IV/2006 held that the law breached constitutional provisions that mandated that a special court be established under a specific law of its own and not part of any other legislation instrument. Therefore, the provisions contained in Articles 53 though 62 were held to be in breach of the prevailing norms of the Constitution, and the expected standards of legislation drafting in this instance.
Interestingly, the Court provided the government a three-year window of opportunity to draft and enact a specific piece of legislation to establish the new Corruption Court. The government after a long and tortuous process managed to get Law No. 46 of 2009 on the Corruption Court passed during the final throes of the recently departed House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat / DPR). A new DPR was sworn in towards the end of October 2009 after general elections earlier in the year.
The new Law sets out a rather mammoth undertaking in terms of both the establishment of facilities and the recruiting of staff. The Corruption Court is a specialized court under the auspices of the Supreme Court. This is a mammoth undertaking because the law stipulates that there is to be a corruption court established within every District Court throughout Indonesia. For example, this means that within the greater Jakarta area there will be five courts established at the Central, East, West, North, and South Jakarta District Courts.
The law is clear that the establishment process is to be phased. The initial focus will be in establishing at least one Corruption Court at the provincial level. This is court is expected to be established in the capital city of the respective provinces. Yet, it would seem clear that the establishment of courts beyond this initial step will be heavily dependent on the availability of resources, particularly human resources. The law, at Article 35(4), requires that this initial phase be completed no later than two years after the enactment of this legislation. In essence, all Corruption Courts at the provincial level must be established no later than 29 October 2011.
The human resources are a critical component of the law as the provisions mandate the appointment of both career and ad hoc judges to the courts. The appointment of career judges may not be too problematic with respect to numbers. However, the handling of corruption cases is not always a simple criminal matter. Corruption cases quite often involve complex financial transactions which require specialized skills, knowledge, and expertise. These elements may not be so readily available within the current ranks of the career judges.
The procedural law that is to apply in the corruption courts is the criminal procedural law as contained in Law No. 8 of 1981. However, the law also makes special mention of procedural requirements that are contained in Law No. 31 of 1999 as amended by Law No. 20 of 2001 and Law No. 14 of 1985 as amended by Law No. 3 of 2009. Nevertheless, the law also makes explicit mention of wiretapping within the context of corruption matters. The issue of wiretapping by the KPK has been a controversial issue since it was first permitted. And, there was serious discussion about removing the wiretapping powers that the KPK has. Removing these powers and wiretapping as a form of evidence would undoubtedly be detrimental to the successful prosecution of corrupters.
In order to avoid the need to restart current corruption cases before the corruption court established under Law No 30 of 2002, the law stipulates that these cases are to be heard and finalized in accordance with the relevant laws.
Ada Pertanyaan? Hubungi Kami 
Professional Solutions
University Solutions
Pro
My Workspace
Pro AI
Terfavorit
Allex QnA
Pro Compliance
