Lawyers Must Present Minutes of Oath Regardless their Bar Affiliation

 
Agus Sahbani, Robert Sidauruk
 
In the midst of the ongoing conflict between Indonesian bar associations, the Supreme Court (MA) has asserted that MA Decree No. 052/KMA/HK.01/III/2011 (Decree) requires all lawyers to present a certificate of inauguration and minutes of oath, before they can appear in Court, regardless of which bar association they are registered with.
 
“The Decree confirms that only lawyers that have been inaugurated and sworn into the Court of Appeal are admitted and can practice before the Court,” explained Ridwan Mansyur, Head of the Legal and Public Relations Bureau at the MA, on Monday.
 
However, Mr. Mansyur refused to comment as to whether District Courts and Courts of Appeal have interpreted the Decree as only recognizing advocates registered with the Indonesian Advocates Association (PERADI).
 
Based on his personal experience, he said that lawyers that are not registered as PERADI members are allowed to practice as long they can present minutes of oath to the Court.
 
“It would have been a different story if the lawyers cannot present the minutes of oath, then they will not be allowed to practice,” said Mr. Mansyur.
 
In practice, some lower courts below the MA have implemented the Decree in one way or another. The Depok Religious Court, for instance, is now requiring all lawyers to provide their license and minutes of oath before a trial commences. To ensure lawyers are aware of this requirement, the Depok Religious Court has placed a notification on the notification boards at the Court.
 
Suryadi, a public relations officer at the Depok Religious Court explained that this requirement applies to all lawyers, regardless of their bar association—whether it is PERADI, the Congress of Indonesian Advocates (KAI), or any other bar association.
 
“Prior to appearing before the Court, lawyers must present their license and minutes of oath,” said Mr. Suryadi.
 
Suryadi further explained that posting the notification was to avoid the same mistake made by the Ponogoro Religious Court more than a month ago. In that case, Suryadi indicated, all the Court’s judges there were issued with a written warning by the MA, as the Court allowed advocates to practice without providing the minutes of oath.
 
In his experience in implementing the Decree, Suryadi admitted that there have been some complaints from non- PERADI advocates. However, once they were informed that the main aim of the Decree is to accommodate both PERADI and non-PERADI advocates, they accept the requirements and were willing to comply.
 
“The Decree is implemented without any serious complaint from lawyers,” concluded Mr. Suryadi.
 

Due to the recent development, lawyers from the Forum Komunitas Advokat Indonesia (FOR-KAI), representing the Congress of Indonesian Advocates, have sent us their right of reply as a response to this news: FOR-KAI's Right of Reply

(hot/kc)