Jakartass Home thoughts from abroad. Alien thoughts from home.

In February, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered Indonesia's ambassadors to attract more foreign investment in order to create jobs and prosperity. US$200 billion a year is needed. Almost in the same metaphorical breath, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa declared that Indonesia would continue to spearhead the upholding of human rights. It is not clear whether a connection was being made; but human rights are, of course, very much dependent on the rule of law, just as the ability to attract foreign investment is.

Sadly, despite Mr. Marty Natalegawa's expression of good intent, Indonesia's justice system is viewed as the worst in Asia, such that the endemic corruption and violence within it extensively undermine the rule of law. The U.N. and Amnesty International report, for instance, that detainees are routinely tortured for confessions, that sexual favours are extracted from female suspects, and bribes are regularly demanded by venally corrupt judges, prosecutors and police. The deleterious consequences of this undermining of the rule of law are all too evident in Indonesia: injustice, human rights abuse, conflict, and distorted scarce resource allocation manifested by poverty, unemployment, disaffection, extremism and environmental destruction.

A British man, Frank Richardson, who set up much-needed quality schools in Indonesia over some ten years, and his family experienced some of these deleterious consequences first hand. A combination of fabricated evidence and corrupt legal system officials, meant many of his human rights were violated, resulting in his freedom, schools, home, children, savings and even his personal possessions being taken from him, leaving him bereft and destitute.

Once deported by those intent on hindering his quest for justice, undaunted, he drew on the legal training he underwent in London as a young man, and made a study of Indonesia's dysfunctional legal system and its endemic corruption, with the aim of finding ways to combat the pervasive bribery. He also looked at the changing dynamics brought about by modern technology and the movement of investment around the world. The upshot is OpenTrial, which is working to harness the growing trans-jurisdictional and extra-territorial dimension that derives from the advent of the internet and extra-territorial anti-corruption legislation.

Frank saw, because of its ability to safely expose legal processes in copious detail, the tremendous potential the internet offers to transform dysfunctional justice systems through advancing transparency and accountability that are prerequisites to justice. It was evident that the internet could also be used to assist capacity building and the strengthening of justice system competence through online supervision and training.

Indeed, the right to information written into Indonesia's constitution and the Freedom of Public Information Act 2007 (UU Kebebasan Informasi Public, also known as UU KIP) which recently came into effect, are complementary to OpenTrial's aims. OpenTrial is working to produce a Content Management System website which it will populate, using Indonesia's right to information law, with legal system data and archives in order to facilitate far greater transparency, accountability and competency that will act to significantly counter not only legal system corruption, but violence too.

Frank also recognised that the extra-territorial legislation of developed countries has a great potential to spread the rule of law to developing countries and, in so doing, bring about improved living conditions for millions. The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials came into effect in 1999, and is important because its signatories account for most of the world’s exports and foreign investment. Parties to the convention are obliged to adopt legislation making it a crime to bribe foreign public officials, whether directly or through intermediaries, and establish corporate liability for foreign bribery.

Signatories to the convention include all 30 OECD countries – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States – and seven non-OECD countries: Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Estonia, Slovenia and South Africa. With the addition of Israel in March of last year, there are now 38 signatories to the convention.

Many of these countries are, of course, important to Indonesia as investors and trading partners; but, because of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, their companies will increasingly have problems operating in Indonesia if corruption, and particularly legal system corruption, is not effectively combated. OpenTrial, with the help of partners in Indonesia, will be monitoring the activities of such businesses and, where necessary, will report to prosecutors in their home countries any indication that anti-foreign bribery legislation is being transgressed.

Thus, if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is to attract the US$200 billion investment a year that he needs, he must first tackle legal system corruption. The setting up of the special task force to combat judicial corruption, known in Indonesian as the Satgas Pemberantasan Mafia Hukum (Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force), and National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri's order to his regional police chiefs to eradicate so-called 'mafia' practices in their offices, are certainly steps in the right direction, albeit not enough.

OpenTrial, with its insight, imagination and vision to harness the changing dynamics of the modern world in the interests of justice, is likely to prove to be the better bet.

Visit: OpenTrial.net.