VZCZCXRO1268
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1631/01 2410320
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280320Z AUG 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9907
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2961
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 1233
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1207
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2161
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4855
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 6318
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2423
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 3000
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2917
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 1081
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP 0068
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001631 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INL FOR ROSS 
DEPT FOR EEB/IFD/OMA 
DOJ/OPDAT FOR LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE 
SINGAPORE FOR TREASURY/BAKER 
MCC FOR LONGI 
NSC FOR EPHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCOR KMCA PREL ID
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE SET TO RETIRE; SEARCH 
ON FOR SUCCESSOR 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 1509 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 956 
     ¶C. 07 JAKARTA 514 AND PREVIOUS 
 
JAKARTA 00001631  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Chief Justice of the Indonesian 
Supreme Court will retire in November.  The selection process 
for his replacement has started in the Indonesian House of 
Representatives (DPR).  Although Chief Justice Bagir Manan 
has generally disappointed initial expectations of 
modernization, the court has worked to achieve some 
substantive reforms under his leadership. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) SUMMARY (Con'd):  The Chief Justice recently 
provided an update on the Court,s ongoing modernization 
program, much of which is funded through the Millennium 
Challenge Corporation (MCC).  President Yudhoyono has pledged 
his support for these reforms.  Along with the Constitutional 
Court, the Supreme Court is at the apex of the Indonesian 
judiciary, and its chief justice position is crucial for 
leadership on reform.  END SUMMARY. 
 
PICKING A NEW CHIEF JUSTICE 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Having reached the mandatory retirement age (which 
is 67), long-time Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan is 
scheduled to retire on November 1.  The process to select his 
replacement has already begun.  (Note:  Manan has been in 
office since 2001 and is bound to be a continuing presence on 
the legal scene even after his near-term retirement.  Along 
with other important Indonesians, he participated in a USG 
leadership program focused on corruption earlier this year.) 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The replacement process is a bit complex.  In early 
September, the DPR committee which deals with judicial issues 
(known as "Commission III") will conduct hearings into the 
qualifications of the 18 short-listed candidates selected by 
the Judicial Commission, an independent body.  (Note:  The 
Judicial Commission was formed by the DPR in 2005 with a 
mandate to strengthen the integrity of the judiciary.  So 
far, it has not had much of an impact.)  While the selection 
process and candidate list to fill vacated positions on the 
Constitutional Court were widely discussed (see Ref A), the 
selection process for the Supreme Court has been much less 
transparent.  Based on the DPR's recommendation, all the 
justices on the Supreme Court--there are about 50--will then 
vote and make the final decision as to who will be the next 
chief justice.  (Note:  Judges on the Constitutional Court 
recently chose a new chief justice for that court, Md. 
Mahfud.  Mahfud has already made a mark on the judicial 
scene, asserting during a recent speech that Sharia-based 
laws put in place by localities are unconstitutional--see Ref 
A.) 
 
ANNUAL MEETING SIGNALS FURTHER REFORM 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Separately on August 4, the Supreme Court held its 
annual meeting in Jakarta.  President Yudhoyono opened the 
meeting by pledging his continued support for court 
modernization, the meeting,s predominant theme. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In order to achieve the goal of court 
modernization, the Chief Justice--in pro-reform remarks given 
at the meeting--announced that in 2009 the court would 
conduct a staffing assessment.  In addition, it would conduct 
 
JAKARTA 00001631  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
training on court administration, court budgeting and 
discipline.  Moreover, all courts would collect court fee 
payments through financial institutions.  To facilitate the 
reform process, he called for more work to socialize Court 
Administration Guidelines plus the recently enacted Judicial 
Code of Conduct and a new Court Transparency Decree among 
court officials and staff. 
 
USG:  A KEY CONTRIBUTION 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Along with the Constitutional Court, the Supreme 
Court is at the apex of the judiciary and its chief justice 
position is crucial for real reform.  Unfortunately, the 
current occupant has not always earned widespread confidence 
about his ability to manage court reforms, though he has been 
more vocal on the need for positive movement.  (Note:  This 
is perhaps due to his participation in the in-depth U.S. 
program mentioned above which took place earlier this year.) 
 
¶9.   (SBU) That said, the Chief Justice and other members of 
the Supreme Court have repeatedly expressed to Mission their 
thanks for U.S. assistance to the courts and their desire for 
continued and increased cooperation.  Most of the activities 
and goals outlined in the Chief Justice,s recent speech 
would be funded through USG MCC Threshold Program assistance. 
 The Chief Justice,s statements during the recent meeting 
signal that court reform is still very much on the agenda. 
That is good news since the judicial sector needs a lot of 
work to ensure that proper standards are followed and that 
corruption is cut way down. 
 
HUME