IO – Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat – “MPR”) of RI Bambang Soesatyo (“Bamsoet”) has encouraged the establishment of an Ethics Court as the terminus of the process of ethics enforcement. Therefore, any ethical decision that must be upheld by the various upholders of codes of ethics in Government agencies and professional organizations need not clog general courts with their issues. Justice seekers who are declared guilty by these upholders can appeal their case at the Ethics Court. “Due to the lack of a separate Ethics Court, people who are decreed guilty of ethical violation by each Code of Ethics upholder seek justice by appealing to general courts, either the Supreme Court or the State Administration Court (Pengadilan Tata Usaha Negara – “PTUN”), even though ethics and the law are two different matters. People who are ethically guilty may not be legally guilty. However, those who are legally guilty are definitely ethically guilty as well,” he said.
The Second National Convention of Ethics in National living and State Administration was attended by the Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reforms and the leaders of several Code of Ethics upholders: Chairman of KY, Chairman of DKPP, Chairman of MKD DPR RI, Chairman of BK DPD RI, Chairman of the Supreme Court’s Ethics Committee, Chairman of the Civil Servants Commission (Komisi Aparat Sipil Negara – “KASN”), Chairman of PERADI’s Ethics Committee, Chairman of the Indonesian Notary Association’s Ethics Committee, Chairman of the Press Council, Chairmen of all DPR RI political parties’ Ethics Committees, and law enforcers from the Police, the Attorney’s Office, and the Supreme Court. “With this convention, we hope to generate and unify ideas about the importance of an Ethics Court. This will reduce the workload of law enforcers such as the Police, the Attorney’s Office, and general courts, as they will no longer need to handle ethical issues. In this way, Indonesia can record a new world history as the country that pioneers transparent upholding of ethics in national and State administration,” declared Bamsoet.
“We can base the establishment of the Ethics Court on MPR Decree Number VI/MPR/2001 concerning Ethics in National living and State Administration. In order to realize this idea, MPR RI with the Judicial Commission (Komisi Yudisial – “KY”) and the Elections Organizers’ Ethics Council (Dewan Kehormatan Penyelenggara Pemilihan Umum – “DKPP”) will hold the Second National Convention of Ethics in National living and State Administration in October or November 2020,” Bamsoet said, after having received the Chairman of KY Jaja Ahmad Jayus, Chairman of DKPP Muhammad, and member of Regional Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah – “DPD”) of RI Jimly Asshiddiqie at the Speaker of the MPR RI’s Office in Jakarta on Tuesday (11/08/2020).
He further states that in its General Assembly in 1996, the United Nations has recommended that all of its member countries, including Indonesia, should establish an “ethical infrastructure in public offices” that includes both the Code of Ethics and the agencies that will uphold these Codes. Indonesia responded by establishing several agencies for upholding Codes of Ethics, including KY, DKPP, the Ethics Committee (Mahkamah Kehormatan Dewan – “MKD”) of DPR RI, the Ethics Committee (Badan Kehormatan – “BK”) of DPD RI, and the Ethics Committee/Monitoring Council of the Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi – “KPK”) of RI. Various professional organizations also have their own Code of Ethics upholders. For example, the Ethics Committee of the Indonesian Bar Association (Perhimpunan Advokat Indonesia – “PERADI”), the Medical Ethics Committee, the Ethics Committee of the Indonesian Association of Accountants, and the Press Council. (dan)