VISIT OF THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE INDEPENDENCE OF JUDGES AND LAWYERS, DATO' PARAM CUMARASWAMY TO INDONESIA

Geneva 3 July 2002

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, has been invited to conduct a fact-finding mission to Indonesia from 15 to 25 July 2002.

The Special Rapporteur will address all issues relating to the functioning of the legal system, including the independence of judiciary, allegations of judicial corruption, impunity, the legal profession, the prosecutorial and court system and the state of the rule of law. In his statement to the 58th Session of the Commission on Human Rights the representative of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia said, that the Indonesian legal institutions, amongst others, were "undergoing a steady upgrading over the years in order to meet international standards, the judicial system still has much ground to cover before it can rival those of established democracies... In this regard we hope that the imminent visit of the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, will benefit our national capacity building efforts in the field of human rights.”

During the mission, the Special Rapporteur has requested to meet with, among others, the Chief Justice, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, the Attorney General, senior judges from the Supreme Court, High Courts and District Courts, Public Prosecutors, the Ombudsman, the National Law Commission, the National Human Rights Commission, representatives from the Bar associations, non-governmental organisations and individuals from the human rights community. The Special Rapporteur will also visit the Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal and meet with its Judges, Prosecutors, Defense Counsel and the Head of the Witness Protection Department.

The Special Rapporteur hopes that his mission will contribute to the Indonesian Government's efforts towards a greater realisation of civil and political rights in Indonesia and the more effective functioning of the judicial and legal systems. The Special Rapporteur will present a report of his mission to the 59th Session of the Commission on Human Rights in April 2003.

Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, a lawyer from Malaysia, was appointed as Special Rapporteur in 1994. Since then he has carried out fact-finding missions to Belgium, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Peru, Columbia, Guatemala, Belarus, South Africa, Slovakia, Mexico and Italy. He has also intervened by written communications in more than 100 countries on matters relating to the independence of judges and lawyers.




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