DPR Pressed to Provide Broader Criteria for Pro-Bono Recipients Within Legal-Aid Bill

en.hukumonline.com (Tuesday, October 12, 2010) - As the House of Representatives (DPR) met to consider the Draft Legal Aid Bill, activists remained hopeful that their suggested reforms would be included in the final draft.  Such reforms, they believe, will lead to a more structured and effective legal aid regime.

This past Tuesday (5/10) , the Civil Society Coalition for the Legal Aid Law (KuBAH) held a conference to review the Draft Bill and comment on intended changes to the law.

One attendee, founder of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Adnan Buyung Nasution, believed such efforts were integral to ensuring that the Legal-Aid Bill becomes a medium to promote positive change.

Erna Ratnaningsih, the Chairperson of YLBHI, used the conference to criticize parts of the Bill, which set out the proposed entitlement criteria.

While existing Government Regulation No. 83 of 2008 already provides “poor economic situation” as a pre-condition, the Draft Bill uses the alternate language of “poor  who face legal problems.” Article 4 (2) of the Bill defines “the poor” as “those who cannot meet their basic needs, which include food, clothing, health services, education services, job opportunities, and housing”. Mr. Ratnaningsih was concerned that the differing definitions could cause problems in the future.

In addition to the indigent, Conference attendees had hoped the DPR would include other suggested “marginalized groups” in the list of pro-bono recipients. As had been suggested earlier by the Indonesian Legal Resource Center (ILRC), “marginalized groups” would refer to groups that had been negatively affected by certain public policies and could include victims of civil and political neglect, indigenous communities, and others approved by the Legal Aid Commission.

The ILRC also proposed that those facing criminal charges with sentences of five or more years should be entitled to legal aid, if they could not afford counsel.

According to ILRC Executive Director, Uli Parulian Sihombing, the DPR proposed criteria alone was insufficient, as "it still did not completely fit with the principles of legal aid." 

Members from KuBAH echoed this sentiment, and called on the DPR to include other minority groups such as women, children, and persons with disabilities.  

For their part, the DPR has actively encouraged civil society participation in the Bill’s drafting, and has stated that it would consider the activists' suggestions.

Muhammad Yasin/Suharti