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From One Judge to Another Program MCC Threshold Program (Controlling Corruption) USAID/ICCP Seventy-two Indonesian judges were trained in September 2007 on the Judicial Code of Conduct, new ethical guidelines the Supreme Court of Indonesia developed last December. With video scenarios and active participation, this was not "the usual training." Assisting in the training process was Justice Joe Nadeau, a retired New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice. Justice Nadeau has been involved in judicial education training programs in other developing countries and jumped at the chance to continue his work by coming to Indonesia. In conjunction with his Indonesian counterpart Laode M. Syarif, a law professor, Nadeau developed the curriculum for the Code of Conduct training as part of the MCC Threshold Program's Indonesia Control of Corruption Project (ICCP). The Supreme Court had made it clear to the two developers that they did not want "the usual training" of primarily lecture. Instead, the court sought to have the attendees participate in the training and engage with the material. To encourage this, Nadeau and Syarif created video scenarios and re-enactments of situations judges might face. Using professional actors, these scenarios included instances of gift-giving, bribes, delays of proceedings and discipline, impartiality, and threats. The videos afforded the training group an opportunity to discuss the challenges of the portrayed situations. One of the video scenarios showed a lawyer and his client meeting with a judge after a decision. As a way of thanking the judge for finding in his favor, the client offered the judge a watch, which the lawyer handed over to the judge. Many in the judiciary do not have high salaries, so oftentimes lawyers and others providing gifts do so with the attitude that those working in the judiciary deserve to get more than they are paid. A reasonable reaction might be that this video simply portrayed a polite gesture. But through discussion, Nadeau and the participants teased out the implication of the lawyer (who the judge would likely encounter again) handing over his client's gift. Justice Nadeau emphasized that the end goal of the Code of Ethics training is not to clarify what is and is not allowed, but rather to get the participants to think about whether or not they should do something, or whether or not it will compromise their integrity. Nadeau noted that many of the judges feel that, in their hearts, they will do the right thing, regardless of what gifts or favors they are given. "The trick is," says Nadeau, "the public needs to be convinced the judges will do the right thing, and in order for the public to believe, there cannot be any sense of impropriety." Questions and participation from the crowd sparked lively discussions While recognizing that control of corruption is a long, slow process, Nadeau remains confident that the Code of Conduct Training is a vital step in the right direction. At the opening dinner for the training, a speaker from the Indonesian judiciary opined with honesty that the judiciary had lost the trust of the people, and that internal reform was necessary. "These judges are concerned about their public image and reputation, which is one of the least positive among institutions in Indonesia," Nadeau noted. "They want to be trusted and respected by the Indonesian people." The ICCP will conduct a Training of Trainers session to enable the project to meet its goals of training at least 2000 judges over the course of the MCC Threshold Program. These sessions will not only include the Code of Conduct Training, but also feature modules on group dynamics and problem solving to give the trainers the tools to then conduct their own trainings. The Code of Conduct training is part of the MCC Threshold Plan's Indonesia Control of Corruption Project being implemented by USAID. The project supports a variety of other anti-corruption efforts including implementation of administrative reforms and greater judicial transparency; increased enforcement capabilities to fight money laundering; prosecution of cases of public corruption; and reduction of opportunities for corruption through the modernization of public procurement systems. For more information on the MCC's Threshold Program for Indonesia, please click here. All MCC Threshold Program activities |
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