Improving Judicial Complaint Handling System in Indonesia

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue XII, December 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Improving Judicial Complaint Handling System in Indonesia

Fatahillah Abdul Syukur ¹, Ahmad Syafiq ^2
1Faculty of Law, Universitas Pancasila Indonesia
²The Oversight Body, Supreme Court of Indonesia

Abstract:
This paper analyses the reforms made by the Indonesian judiciary in handling complaints through a whistle-blowing online application. It aims to improve the reputation of the Supreme Court which has been notoriously known for corruption, collusion and nepotism. The authors describe some judicial reform programs developed by the Supreme Court. The paper analyses the recently issued Supreme Court Regulation 2016 which serves as the legal basis of Electronic Whistle Blowing Application. The authors illustrate some features of the online application and few constraints on its implementation. The authors propose some recommendations to improve the implementation of electronic complain handling system.

Keywords: Improvement, judicial oversight, complaint handling, Indonesia.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Supreme Court of Indonesia has been trying to reform its judicial system since its integration into one-roof system in 2004. The Supreme Court further developed its Blueprint for Judicial Reform 2010-2035 to achieve its vision to become honourable judiciary and regain public trust. The Blueprint consists of several reform guidelines involving judicial technical matters and case management, supporting functions (such as research and development, human resource management, education and training system, budget management, asset management, and information technology) and accountability reforms (supervision and information disclosure) [1]. Based on these guidelines, there have been numerous judicial reform programs implemented by the Supreme Court, particularly with the help of technological innovations.
This paper is partly based on monitoring and evaluation program to assess the implementation of the complaint handling and whistle-blowing online application which was conducted in 2019 in some pilot courts in Indonesia. The program involved some judges of the Supreme Court Oversight Body and conducted field visits to selected pilot courts representing major islands in Indonesia. The authors have been involved in the development of complaint handling mechanism through online application in the Indonesian judiciary starting from drafting its legal basis and developing the Electronic Whistle-Blowing System.
Therefore, this paper used an empirical juridical approach (law as a social and cultural norms) in which it collected primary data from the field [2]. The data was assembled by using open and semi-structured interviews with judges from the Oversight Body and other visited courts. Relevant stakeholders, such as registrars and complaint-handling officers, were also interviewed to gather more detailed data and information. The interviews were conducted based on the purposive sampling technique. It was based on certain considerations or reasons, in which the parties directly related to the subject [3].
Secondary data was also obtained by conducting literature research and library materials review, which include primary, secondary and tertiary legal materials. In-depth analyses on some references on the Indonesian judicial reforms and international journals on the benchmark of complaint handling system in some countries were also conducted to enrich the paper.
This paper analyses the reforms made by the Indonesian judiciary in handling complaints through a whistle-blowing online application. It aims to improve the reputation of the Supreme Court which has been notoriously known for corruption, collusion and nepotism. The authors describe some judicial reform programs developed by the Supreme Court. The paper analyses the recently issued Supreme Court Regulation 2016 which serves as the legal basis of Electronic Whistle Blowing Application. The authors illustrate some features of the online application and few constraints on its implementation. The authors propose some recommendations to improve the implementation of electronic complain handling system.

II. JUDICIAL REFORMS IN INDONESIA

The Indonesian judiciary has been troubled by its notorious reputation which has been limiting the rights of people for access to justice. Three main problems have historically faced by the Indonesian judiciary, which include corruption, collusion and nepotism; unfair, drawn out, expensive and undisclosed court proceedings; and the poor quality of human resources.
There has been a long history of corruption, collusion and nepotism in Indonesia which can be traced back to the Dutch occupation [4], exacerbated by complicated judicial proceedings and lack courts’ personnel quality. Since gaining independence in 1945, Indonesia has been troubled with this problem, exacerbated by the New Order regime of President Soeharto which existed for 32 years [5]. The downfall of the Soeharto regime signalled the start of a new reform era. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated that 1998 was the beginning of a national reform campaign against any kind of corruption, collusion and nepotism [6]; however, the progress has not been promising.

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