60213 JUSTICE Briefing note POOR for the Promoting equity and managing conflict in development March 2011 Volume 6 | Issue 2 Increasing Access to Justice for Women, the Poor, and Those Living in Remote Areas: An Indonesian Case Study access-to-justice policy developments initiated by Indonesian This briefing note is a joint product of the Australian government institutions and a summary of some key results, Agency for International Development (AusAID), the highlighting how small-scale pilots and research can provide World Bank East Asia and Pacific-Justice for the Poor empirical data on which national agencies can draw to strength- (EAP-J4P) Initiative, and the Family Court of Australia. en national policy development and planning processes. It was written by Cate Sumner, Lead Adviser Judicial Reform/Access to Justice for AusAID's Indonesia Background Australia Partnership for Justice (Transition) project and its predecessor, Indonesia Australia Legal Development It is little more than a decade since the Reformasi period com- Facility, and Matthew Zurstrassen, former Social menced in Indonesia at the end of the Suharto regime. Over Development Specialist and Team Leader, Justice for the the last four years, a collaboration between civil society, ju- Poor Program, World Bank, Indonesia, with Leisha Lister, dicial institutions, and the National Planning Development Executive Advisor in the Family Court of Australia. The Agency (Bappenas) has resulted in some impressive increases Justice for the Poor program also receives support from in access to justice for women, the poor, and those living in the Government of the Netherlands. remote areas. In October 2009, the Government of Indonesia launched the National Strategy on Access to Justice, which included important statements on the rights of all Indonesians to be able to access public goods and services on a nondis- R ecent reforms in the religious courts of Indonesia criminatory basis in order to improve the quality of their lives. have resulted in a 14-fold increase in the number of The National Strategy articulates the idea that the Indonesian poor clients able to access the courts through court justice system plays a role in promoting social justice in which fee waivers and a fourfold increase in the number able to ac- legal reform and justice share a common objective in protect- cess circuit courts in remote areas. These increases are sig- ing the economic, social, and cultural rights of poor people.1 nificant because the ability of the poor, particularly women and their dependents, to utilize the religious courts is a crucial The importance of strengthening access to justice for all step in opening up their access to broader public services and people, especially the poor and marginalised, is now be- government poverty-alleviation programs. yond question. Indonesian citizens have yet to fully realise the fulfillment of their rights under the Constitution.... This briefing note outlines the reform process that pro- duced these notable results, a process that began with targeted The concept of access to justice focuses on two basic ob- grassroots empowerment through engagement with PEKKA, jectives of a legal system: (1) that it is accessible to people an Indonesian civil society organization supporting women- from all levels of society; and (2) that it is able to provide headed households. Formal justice sector institutions and local fair decisions and rules for people from all levels of so- governments subsequently built on those efforts, with support ciety, either individually or collectively. The fundamental from international development agencies. The note will outline idea to be mainstreamed in this concept is the achievement the range of access-to-justice initiatives involving PEKKA, of social justice for all citizens. the Indonesian courts, government partners, and international agencies that have contributed to broader policy reform in the 1 National Planning Development Agency (Bappenas), "Strategi Nasional Akses Ter- access-to-justice field. It will also describe a series of recent hadap Keadilan (National Strategy on Access to Justice)" (Jakarta, May 2009), 11. Access to justice in the Indonesian context refers to the divorced from their estranged, effectively former, husbands. circumstances and processes whereby the state guaran- These women were therefore unable to assert their status tees the fulfilment of fundamental rights based on the as female heads of household in relation to these pro-poor Constitution and universal principles of human rights, programs. and the ability of all citizens (claim holders) to know, un- derstand, be aware of and make use of these basic rights, Agency and Legal Identity through formal and informal justice institutions that are The role that women's agency plays in their own social and supported by the existence of accessible and responsive economic development and that of their families is well docu- public complaint mechanisms, in order to obtain the re- mented. In Indonesia, legally documenting a woman's position sources to improve the quality of their lives.2 as head of household can play a major role in her ability to access poverty alleviation programs (rice and cash transfers), Female-Headed Households, Poverty, free health services, and free education programs for herself, and Access to Services her children, and the household she supports. In Indonesia, le- In 2010, the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics (BPS) estimated gal marriage and divorce are the building blocks of legal iden- that there are 65 million households in Indonesia. Almost 10 tity for the children of such marriages. Cycles of illegal mar- million of these (14 percent) are headed by women.3 To ac- riage, illegal divorce, and the resulting lack of official birth cess a number of pro-poor government services, including certificates feed social exclusion and deprivation, perpetuat- health insurance, access to rice subsidies, and cash transfer ing inter-generational poverty. Assisting poor people to legally payments, local governments require evidence that female register births, marriages, and divorces is thus an important heads of household are, in fact, the head of the household. step in establishing legal identity for all in Indonesia, and for Obtaining new identity or family cards that show a woman is better enabling individuals to exercise their rights. the head of her household requires the formalization of mar- riages and the issuance of legal divorce certificates. Research The religious courts play a critical part in this process. One conducted by PEKKA has shown that over 50 percent of of the four main court jurisdictions supervised by the Supreme the marriages and 86 percent of the divorces of its members Court of Indonesia,4 the religious courts have courthouses in are not legally registered, as they are not brought before the most districts across Indonesia and also have the capacity to hold Indonesian courts. It is for this reason that access to the reli- circuit court hearings outside district capital cities.5 It is a signifi- gious courts for the poor, particularly for women, is critical cant--if little understood--fact that divorce cases now form the to their ability to access broader public services. single largest group of cases in the Indonesian judicial system, comprising 50 percent of all court cases, followed by criminal In Indonesia, pro-poor government services, includ- cases (33 percent). The religious courts decide fully 98 percent ing cash transfers and free health treatment, are distributed of all divorce cases in Indonesia and the general courts only 2 through a two-tiered approach: percent.6 Moreover, the number of divorce cases heard by the re- ligious courts has increased significantly over the past five years, 1. BPS determines a quota per district for the cash trans- with a rise of 50 percent in the past three years alone. Yet, despite fer scheme or free health treatment. the increase in caseload, the cost of court fees and transportation 2. Each program has a different targeting approach with- to the nearest court means that accessing the religious courts re- in districts. The Unconditional Cash Transfer (BLT) mains beyond the reach of the poor. program uses the BPS list of the poor within districts, while under the Health Insurance for the Poor program 2 3 Ibid., 1­2. Indonesian Bureau of Statistics (Badan Pusat Statistik [BPS]), Statistik Gen- (Askeskin/Jamkesmas), district-level officials can de- der 2009 (Jakarta: BPS, 2010), 18. See also Wendy Hartanto, The 2010 Indo- termine which households fill the quota. nesia Population Census, available at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/censuskb/ attachments/2009IDN_ISI-GUIDfba441dd463e4ca5907f1a1ae508f3ff.pdf. BPS defines the head of the household as a person who is responsible for the daily These services are allocated on a quota basis across dis- needs of a household or the person who is considered the head of the household. tricts, with village officials having discretion to determine A head of a household can be either a man or a woman, with a marital status of single, married, divorced, or widowed. who should receive the benefits from among those satisfying 4 The other main jurisdictions supervised by the Supreme Court are the general the criteria. The key findings from the 2007­2009 Access courts for civil (including family law for non-Muslims) and criminal matters, ad- and Equity Survey discussed below highlight that PEKKA ministrative courts, and militiary courts. Several specialized courts also fall under the Supreme Court's jurisdiction. female heads of household living under the Indonesian pov- 5 High courts (appelate courts) exist in provincial capital cities. The Indonesian erty line do not fare well in accessing pro-poor programs. Supreme Court, located in Jakarta, is the final court of appeal on matters within the jurisidiction of the courts that it supervises. This is due to broader targeting problems in these programs, 6 Caseload data is taken from the Supreme Court annual report for 2009 and from as well as the fact that, as mentioned above, most of the subsequent data provided by the statistical units of the directorates-general for the general courts (Badilum) and religious courts (Badilag). The case numbers for the women heading these households were actually too poor general courts exclude summary or short cases (such as traffic fines) that are heard to access the religious courts, and thus were not formally in an expedited way by the general courts. Pilots and Research Initiatives court. Before court hearings, they verified the women's data, helped them complete the case application forms, and col- PEKKA works with more than 12,000 female heads of house- lected any required evidence--such as affidavits regarding the holds in 330 villages across eight provinces in Indonesia. marriage and poverty certificates--from village and subdis- Based on a recent survey of PEKKA members, 58 percent trict officials. The PEKKA paralegals also helped the women have never completed primary school, with a further 28 per- find witnesses willing to be present in court and provided a cent having completed only elementary school. Fifty-five short explanation of court procedures to the beneficiaries. percent of the PEKKA members surveyed have a per capita income below the Indonesian poverty line, and 79 percent Research and Policy Advocacy: have a per capita income below US$2.00 (purchasing power Women's Access-to-Justice Case Study, parity or PPP) and on average support three dependants in 2007­08 addition to themselves.7 To support implementation of the WLE program and na- tional-level policy dialogue, the Justice for the Poor pro- Grassroots Pilot: Women's Legal gram undertook case study research on how women access Empowerment Pilot Project in Cianjur, justice across the initial WLE program locations.9 The study West Java documented in detail 28 cases affecting a range of women's Drawing on Justice for the Poor's two initial major pieces rights, including sexual assault, legal and nonlegal marriage, of research,8 the Women's Legal Empowerment (WLE) pro- domestic violence, labor and migrant workers disputes, and gram aimed to build on PEKKA's existing community em- inheritance. The main findings are below: powerment programs to encourage communities to know and demand fulfillment of their rights (demand side), and 1. Village women face serious constraints accessing the strengthen the response capacity of the legal system and the formal justice system. In addition to the financial costs, government at the district and provincial level (supply side). there is also the social burden associated with pursu- This two-pronged approach involved: ing cases through the formal legal system. Resolution of cases through the formal system could often lead 1. At the village level, training paralegals who dissemi- to unforeseen social consequences, which in extreme nate legal information, especially in connection with cases included expulsion from villages. family law and domestic violence, provide legal con- 2. However, once the cases reached the courts, the for- sultation and assistance to village women, and support mal legal system was more responsive than nonstate policy advocacy from the bottom up. mechanisms in protecting the rights of women in legal 2. At the district level, supporting a Multi-Stakeholder disputes. Women whose cases entered the formal sys- Forum (MSF) consisting of judges from the district tem were satisfied overall with the manner in which the and religious courts, public prosecutors, police, local cases were resolved. This was particularly so where government officials, representatives of nongovern- judges and court staff involved in handling such cases mental organizations (NGOs), and academics. The had previously received gender training. MSF supports legal awareness activities through vis- 3. Nonstate mechanisms maintained a degree of social le- its to villages by judges and other MSF members and gitimacy and were easily accessible by women. These policy dialogues. This approach ensures institutions mechanisms, however, prioritized social harmony, of- participating in the MSF are more aware of, and re- ten at the cost of the individual rights of women. sponsive to, the actual legal needs of communities. These findings supported the development of the National PEKKA has worked to create strong cooperation between Strategy on Access to Justice and also brought the WLE pro- the village-level paralegals and the MSF members at the dis- gram and the work of PEKKA to the attention of stakeholders trict level. Based on this cooperation, PEKKA members in the district of Cianjur initiated a pilot to support the formalization 7 Cate Sumner, "Access to Justice: Empowering Female Heads of Household in of legal documentation for divorced women and their depen- Indonesia" (Jakarta: PEKKA and AusAID, 2010), 30 and 48. Members of PEKKA are women who are sole heads of households, due to their status as divorcees or wid- dents. PEKKA worked with both the local government's Civil ows, or otherwise sole income earners (whether married or single). During 2011, Registry Office to obtain birth certificates for hundreds of PEKKA will expand its operations from 15 to 19 provinces across Indonesia. See www.pekka.or.id. children and the religious courts to organize circuit courts to 8 World Bank, "Village Justice in Indonesia: Case Studies on Access to Justice, travel to previously unvisited subdistricts to support the for- Village Democracy and Governance" (Jakarta: World Bank, 2004); World Bank, malization of marriages and divorces for women. The PEKKA "Forging the Middle Ground: Engaging Non-State Justice in Indonesia" (Washing- ton, DC: World Bank, Justice for the Poor, 2009). program field facilitator and paralegals, with assistance from 9 Yohanna M.L. Gultom Hardiyanto and others, Akses Perempuan Terhadap Keadilan the local government, assisted these women in completing the di Indonesia: Studi Kasus Atas Perempuan Desa Pencari Keadilan di Cianjur, Brebes dan Lombok (Women's Access to Justice in Indonesia: Case Study on Rural Female administrative requirements for filing claims in the religious Justice Seekers in Cianjur, Brebes and Lombok) (Jakarta: World Bank, 2008). at the national level, including Bappenas and the religious disadvantages, identifying the barriers this group courts.10 faces in accessing the religious courts could reveal the barriers faced by other disadvantaged groups in Empirical Research: Access and Equity Indonesia. Study in Family Law Undertaken from 2007­2009 In total, this access and equity study has, over the last The Access and Equity Study 2007­2009, the first in three years, surveyed approximately 2,500 Indonesians to Indonesia, was conducted as a collaborative research project obtain their views and perceptions about family law and ac- led by the Supreme Court of Indonesia, with assistance from cess to courts. It also reviewed and analyzed 1,214 divorce the Family Court of Australia, and funded by the Australian and birth certificate court files from 68 general and religious Agency for International Development (AusAID). The study courts across 18 provinces. aimed to provide the Supreme Court with empirical data on the quality of service provided to court users by the two Some of the key findings from this research11 were that: largest court jurisdictions in Indonesia--the general and religious courts--in the area of family law. The study thus 1. The poorest sections of Indonesian society face sig- considered the level of satisfaction of those who had actu- nificant barriers in bringing their family law cases to ally used the Indonesian courts for their family law matters. the courts. Nine out of ten female heads of household It also sought to ascertain whether there are sections of the surveyed were unable to access the courts for their community, particularly those living under the Indonesian divorce cases as required under Indonesian law. The poverty line, who are either unable or unwilling to access the main barriers were financial and relate to court fees services of the religious and general courts for divorce cases and transportation costs. or to obtain divorce and birth certificates and if so, to identify 2. The average total cost of a religious court case among the reasons why. The study then proposed strategic policy re- survey respondents was approximately Rp 800,000 sponses (both financial and organizational) that the Supreme (US$90, or almost four times the monthly per capita Court could consider in order to provide universal access to income for those living on or below the Indonesian both the religious and general courts, examining these issues poverty line).12 In 2008, the average total cost of a with a particular focus on divorce cases (in both religious divorce case in the general court was approximately and general courts) and on the provision of birth certificate Rp 2,000,000 when a lawyer was not used (US$220 statements (Penetapan Akta Kelahiran) by the general courts. or around ten times the monthly per capita income on Lastly, the Access and Equity Study identified how the lack the poverty line), and Rp 10,000,000 with a lawyer of a birth certificate affects an individual's access to broader (US$1,100 or 52 times the monthly per capita income public services such as education. on the poverty line). 3. Women bring twice as many divorce cases to the courts as To achieve these research objectives, reasearchers used do men, and in nine out of ten cases they are successful. the following methodology: 4. A cycle of nonlegal marriage and divorce exists for many PEKKA female heads of household living be- 1. Clients accessing the courts were asked about their low the poverty line. Less than 50 percent of PEKKA perceptions of the level of service they received when members surveyed have a legal marriage. The failure they brought their cases to the court. to obtain legal documentation in relation to marriage 2. Legal professionals likewise were asked about their and divorce has resulted in the fact that 56 percent of perception of the level of service provided to their cli- children from these marriages do not have birth certifi- ents and themselves upon bringing a case to court. cates; it also limits the ability of women to claim child 3. The case files kept by courts in family law cases were support from fathers. reviewed to gather data relating to key client service 10 issues such as the cost of court fees and the average See also related media coverage, for example: J. Suryakusuma, "Working Women Out," Garuda Magazine, October 2007. number of times parties were required to come to court 11 Cate Sumner, "Providing Justice to the Justice Seeker: A Report on the Indo- for their case. nesian Religious Courts Access and Equity Study 2007" (Jakarta: Mahkamah Agung and AusAID, 2008); Cate Sumner,"Providing Justice to the Justice Seeker: 4. Based on awareness of the work undertaken through A Report on the Access and Equity Study in the Indonesian General and Religious the WLE program, women head-of-household mem- Courts 2007­2009" (Jakarta: Mahkamah Agung and AusAID, 2010); and Sumner, bers of PEKKA (most of whom live below the "Access to Justice." 12 Indonesian Bureau of Statistics (Badan Pusat Statistik [BPS]), "Profil Kemiski- Indonesian poverty line) were interviewed to ascertain nan Di Indonesia Maret 2009 (Poverty Profile in Indonesia March 2009)" Berita whether they were able to access the courts for their Resmi Statistik No. 43/07/Th. XII (July 2009). The poverty line for urban dwellers is Rp 222,123 (US$25) and for those living in villages, Rp 179,835 (US$20). In family law and birth certificate cases. Since PEKKA March 2009, 32.5 million people, or 14 percent of the Indonesian population, lived members experience a range of social and economic below the Indonesian poverty line. 5. On average, 27 percent of PEKKA members were Policy Developments Supporting Access married under the age of 16, which is below the legal to Justice age of marriage in Indonesia. This increased to 49 per- cent of PEKKA members surveyed in West Java. The research above, along with ongoing dialogue between 6. The educational attainment of dependants of PEKKA stakeholders from the judiciary, government, and PEKKA women fall well below national standards. A child's and field visits to engage with rural communities, has con- ability to complete the mandatory nine years of edu- tributed to broader access-to-justice policy developments at cation appears to be strongly linked to whether he or the national level over the last two years. she has a birth certificate. Increasingly, provincial gov- ernment regulations stipulate that a birth certificate is Increased State Funding to Courts Leads required in order to enroll a child at school, as well as to Increased Services for the Poor for the national examinations. In response to the first report, Providing Justice to the 7. Of the PEKKA female heads of household surveyed Justice Seeker: A Report on the Indonesian Religious Courts who lived below the Indonesian poverty line, one- Access and Equity Study 2007, the religious courts' budget third are unable to access cash transfer schemes. was increased by Rp 23 billion (US$2.3 million), to be allo- The government cash transfer payments (Bantuan cated for court fee-waiver schemes (pro deo cases) and more Langsung Tunai,or BLT) made in 2005 and 2008 circuit courts15 in order to assist those living in rural and re- were difficult for PEKKA members to obtain. Of the mote areas to access the courts for their family law cases. A one-third who were entitled to assistance but unable further Rp 12 billion (US$1.2 million) was granted in the to access the program, almost all had not formally 2009 state budget allocation (APBN) for the religious courts, divorced through the religious courts and therefore despite an overall reduction in the Supreme Court budget lacked a divorce certificate that would prove to local due to the global financial crisis. This represented an 18-fold government officials that they were, indeed, the head increase over the last two years in the religious courts' bud- of their household and eligible for these programs.13 gets for court fee-waiver schemes and the holding of circuit However, most PEKKA members living below the courts. Indonesian poverty line were able to access the rice subsidy program (raskin). A Web-based system that provides an overview of the to- 8. One-third of the PEKKA female heads of household tal number of cases where court fee waivers are applied, as surveyed living below the Indonesian poverty line were well as of circuit courts cases heard by the religious courts, unable to access the free medical treatment program was established in 2008 (with AusAID support). This inex- (Jamkesmas). This percentage increased to 48 percent pensive system works on the basis of data sent by courts via a for PEKKA members surveyed in West Kalimantan short message service (SMS) to a central database in Jakarta who live below the poverty line. that generates reports that are then available on the Internet. 9. For those Indonesians able to bring their family law Based on data from all of the religious courts in 2010, it is cases to the courts, there is a high satisfaction rate estimated that by the end of 2010, there will have been a 14- among court clients. Seventy-one percent of religious fold increase in poor people accessing court fee waiver pro- court clients and 69 percent of general court clients grams in the religious courts (figure 1). Similarly, the number said they would return to the court in the future if they had similar family law issues. 13 The identity and family cards for these women heads of household members of PEKKA would probably still state that they were married and in a male-headed household, as they had not been formally divorced through the religious courts. The Chief Justice of Indonesia confirmed these findings in World Bank research in Indonesia indicates that female-headed households are the keynote address at the launch of the most recent PEKKA more likely to be beneficiaries of Indonesian government pro-poor programs, sug- gesting that communities consider them more deserving of assistance than other research project, stating that: "Poor people face significant households. See World Bank "Targeting Effectiveness of Current Social Assistance barriers to bring their cases to court. Apart from court fees, Programs in Indonesia" (Jakarta: World Bank, forthcoming). These results highlight the poor also find it difficult to cope with high transportation the importance of, and benefits that flow from, female-headed households being legally recognized as such. costs to come to court." The Chief Justice outlined a number 14 See http://www.badilag.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view& of areas where the Indonesian courts were committed to as- id=5590&Itemid=1. Bantu Masyarakat Miskin, MA Tempuh Empat Strategi (Badilag website July 20, 2010). See also Seri Panduan Akses Keadilan (How sisting the poor and marginalized to participate in broader ac- To Guides) on how to bring divorce, marriage legalization, court fee waivers, cess to justice. These included greater transparency of court and circuit court cases to the religious courts developed in a collaboration be- fees, quicker delivery of court judgments and documents tween PEKKA, the religious courts in Indonesia, and the Family Court of Aus- tralia supported by AusAID. Copies of the How To Guides can be downloaded (such as divorce certificates) so that parties do not need to re- at: http://www.pekka.or.id/8/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&i turn to court, court fee waivers and circuit courts to assist the d=148%3Aseri-panduan-akses-keadilan-pekka&catid=36%3Apemberdayaan- hukum&Itemid=30&lang=en. poor and those living in remote areas, and more information 15 The religious courts' budget to waive court fees and hold circuit courts was less on court processes that are written in nonlegal language.14 than Rp 1 billion in 2007 and increased to Rp 24 billion in 2008. of women accessing circuit courts is estimated to have qua- Figure 1: Projected Number of Court Fee drupled (figure 2).16 Waiver Cases ­ Prodeo New Laws Requiring Indonesian Courts 5000 to Provide Legal Aid Services 4500 4000 In late 2009, Laws 48, 49, and 5017 were passed requiring all 3500 general and religious courts to provide a range of services to 3000 2500 increase access to the courts for the poor and the marginalized. 2000 These services include court fee waivers, legal aid services, 1500 1000 and legal aid posts inside court buildings to provide legal ad- 500 vice and assistance to clients who cannot afford lawyers. 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 National Access-to-Justice Strategy Projected Number of court fee waiver cases ­ prodeo and Inclusion of Access-to-Justice Budget Items in Five-Year Medium-Term Development Plan and Budgets Figure 2: Projected Number of Cases Heard In 2009, Bappenas launched the National Strategy on Access by Circuit Court to Justice.18 Action plans outlined in the Strategy have been integrated into the Medium Term Development Plan 2010­ 16000 2014. In addition, Presidential Regulation No. 5 of 2010, 14000 concerning the National Medium Term Development Plan 12000 10000 (RPJMN) 2010­2014,19 has budgeted approximately Rp 300 8000 billion for supporting access to courts for the poor, covering 6000 court fee waiver schemes, circuit courts, and legal aid servic- 4000 es. These funds will be disbursed by the Indonesian Supreme 2000 Court through the individual budgets of the high and district 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 courts under its jurisdiction. The RPJMN includes targets for the number of poor people who will be assisted through a Projected number of cases heard by circuit court court fee waiver and/or circuit courts. Presidential Instruction No. 3 of 2010 on Equitable Development research was used to evaluate impact, develop models to in- On April 21, 2010, Indonesia's President issued Presidential crease the scale of the approaches, and support broader policy Instruction No. 3 of 2010 concerning "Program Pembangunan reform. By engaging a variety of stakeholders, PEKKA was yang Berkeadilan" (Program for Equitable Development). The able to identify and work with committed partners, including Presidential Instruction emphasizes the importance of "justice the religious courts and Bappenas. This incremental approach for all" in achieving broader poverty allieviation in Indonesia, led ultimately to significant increases in government budget including millennium development goals. It states that the fo- allocations and improved targeting of religious court services. cus of the "justice for all" program is first, justice for children and second, justice for women. One of the programs outlined The increase in access to the religious courts that has oc- in the President's instruction is aimed at increasing legal access curred over the past two years has resulted from a coordinated, for poor women and marginalized groups in family law cases. incremental response from national government agencies and courts, as well as civil society. This section will summarize Conclusion some of the results from the expansion of the initial pilot and research work and draw lessons for ongoing and future support. This briefing note documents an example of how grassroots programs working within communities in a targeted manner 16 Data compiled from Badilag's SMS database on December 13, 2010. From 2011, can successfully generate demand for institutional change at this data on numbers of court fee-waiver cases and circuit courts in the religious courts is publicly available through the Web site http://sms.mahkamahagung.go.id. the national level. In this instance, PEKKA, working together 17 Law no. 48 of 2009 on Judicial Authority (Articles 56 and 57); Law no. 49 of with its beneficiaries, was able to identify specific needs for 2009 on Changes to Law no. 2 of 1986 concerning the General Courts (Article 68); and Law no. 50 of 2009 on Changes to Law no. 7 of 1989 concerning the Religious interventions that would significantly improve the livelihoods Courts (Article 60). of women heads of households and their children. Donors 18 See National Planning Development Agency (Bappenas), "Strategi Nasional supported pilot projects to improve access to the religious Akses Terhadap Keadilan (National Strategy on Access to Justice)" (Jakarta, May 2009). courts. These approaches were documented and empirical 19 http://www.bappenas.go.id/node/0/2518/buku-rpjmn-2010-2014/. Results Lessons Learned The Executive: Government Facilitation, Policy Development, and Budgeting Government budget commitments. Government of Indonesia A variety of stakeholders need to be engaged at dif- funding commitments for access-to-justice initiatives leveraged ferent levels. In this instance (i) judicial bodies provided initial modest donor support by a factor of 70 to 1.a The Indonesian services to women, the poor, or those living in remote government's funding commitments, as evidenced by the RPJMN areas; (ii) NGOs such as PEKKA worked closely with 2010­2014, will be ongoing, providing support in five-year blocks. beneficiaries to ensure the program addressed real needs; Funding continuity in the early years of these new initiatives will prove (iii) relevant local government agencies were involved to vital, as both courts and civil society adjust to new roles in providing deliver associated public services, including various forms access to justice. of legal identity; (iv) the National Development Agency and Finance Ministry translated initial results into national Increasing access. A 14-fold increase in the number of poor people development policies (for example, the National Access to accessing the religious courts through the waiver of their court fees Justice Strategy) and forward budget plans (such as the is estimated to have occurred from 2007 to 2010, as a result of the Medium Term Development Plan); and (v) donors sup- increased budget allocation to the religious courts. Similarly, over the ported these national stakeholders through initial funding, same period there was an estimated fourfold increase in access to documenting impact, and facilitating the sharing of lessons circuit courts. In a relatively short timeframe, the increase in funding learned. has resulted in a significant increase in the ability of women, the poor, or those living in remote areas to access the religious courts for their family law cases. The Judiciary: Aligning Court Processes with the Needs of Clients Developing systems to better utilize court resources. The SMS Budgeting at the national and district court level is database performance monitoring and evaluation tool is now being crucial. The courts need sufficient funds to provide ser- used on a monthly basis by the Directorate-General for Religious vices to the poor. This includes both the funds that have Courts to communicate with 372 religious courts on court services. been allocated nationally, as identified by Bappenas in the It is also used to set the baseline and target performance indicators RPJMN 2010­2014, as well as in the annual budgets that for the religious courts in the RPJMN. Developing effective monitor- are requested by each court through the annual budget ing systems such as these will be crucial as the courts move to a planning process. Over 700 general and religious courts performance-based budgeting model from 2010. across Indonesia need to understand and apply the new state budget processes in order that legal aid funds filter Developing guidelines on providing legal aid services. The courts down to district court level. have commenced a process to draft clear guidelines for judges, registrars, and court staff on providing legal aid services such as the Courts must be involved in any client service survey. waiver of court fees, provision of circuit courts, the establishment of It is critical that courts are partners in access and equity legal aid posts within courthouses, and the provision of legal aid in research studies, so that they can be involved in seeking certain cases.b The guidelines are being drafted based on empiri- client service feedback, as well as in formulating the stra- cal data conducted through the research. Importantly, the court is tegic response that enhances access to justice for all. engaging with NGOs representing court clients, such as PEKKA and Indonesian legal aid organizations, in the drafting process. Civil Society: Grassroots-Level Programs Resulting in National Impact Generating demand for change through pilot programs. Pro- It is important to identify tangible issues on which grams like the PEKKA Women's Legal Empowerment program assist to engage government through an incremental ap- poor and marginalized communities to understand the importance proach. of (and their basic right to) legal marriage and divorce, and, more PEKKA identified a specific issue that was important for particularly, how this supports broader access to public services. Civil its members, namely, how legal marriage and divorce, society organizations can also play an important role in providing as well as birth certificates for children, support broader clear information--through film, radio, or brochures written in nonle- access to public services. PEKKA then raised awareness gal language--on accessing court services.c with PEKKA members on why they should have these Civil society engaging with local governments and the religious documents and certificates for their children. At the same courts. In this instance, PEKKA created networks with local justice time, PEKKA was successful in engaging with the religious sector institutions and local government, identifying constituencies that courts and government at the district and national levels, supported reform at the district level. Working at this level, the dialogue through recommending concrete steps that would improve helped PEKKA female heads of household bring hundreds of family the lives of PEKKA members and their households. law and birth certificate cases to the religious courts through circuit courts and court fee waivers, thereby obtaining legal documents con- cerning marriage, divorce, and the birth of their children. These efforts were then adopted and built on through national reform initiatives. a Funding for both the World Bank and AusAID pilot and research projects total less than half a million dollars. The Indonesian government committed funds in 2008­2009 for the religious courts, and for 2010­2014 period for both the general and religious courts, totaling Rp 335 billion (US$37 million). b Surat Edaran Makamah Agung No. 10 of 2010 tentang Pedoman Pemberian Bantuan Hukum (Supreme Court Practice Direction on the Provision of Legal Aid ) issued on August 30, 2010 is the first of a number of guidelines being developed by the Indonesian Supreme Court and an NGO working group on the implementation of legal aid. c See reference to the How To Guides in footnote 14. The authors are grateful to the AusAID Law and Justice Program for its contribution to this paper. The access and equity study referred to in the paper could not have been undertaken without the support of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia and the leadership of the two Directors-General of the General and Religious Courts respectively: Bapak Cicut Sutiarso and Bapak Wahyu Widiana. The support of their colleagues in the Directorate-General for General Courts (Badilum) and the Directorate-General for Religious Courts (Badilag) was crucial. Wiwiek Awiati, Aria Suyudi and Meissy Sabardiah at the Supreme Court Judicial Reform Team Office helped to coordinate many aspects of this work. The authors are indebted to the NGO PEKKA for its support for the research activities mentioned in this policy brief. Ibu Nani Zulminarni, PEKKA's National Coordinator, and PEKKA staff from the National Secretariat and the field contributed many days of their time undertaking field research, analyzing the results, and developing the key findings and strategic responses. The access and equity survey also benefited from the support of the research teams from SMERU Research Institute, under the guidance of Bapak Akhmadi, and the Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM) at the State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, under the guidance of Dr. Jajat Burhanudin. The Family Court of Australia has supported the access and equity study through the interaction and engagement of judges, court administrators, and staff, which takes place several times a year under the framework of a memorandum of understanding between the Supreme Court of Indonesia, the Federal Court of Australia, and the Family Court of Australia. The authors would like to thank The Hon. Diana Bryant, Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, and Richard Foster, PSM, CEO, for their commitment to supporting the ac- cess and equity study and the ongoing dialogue on family law issues between the Family Court of Australia and the Indonesian courts. Initial research on pilot initiatives relating to access to religious courts under the Women's Legal Empowerment program was conducted by Dewi Novirianti and Yohanna Gultom Hardiyanto. This briefing note also benefited considerably from the inputs of Lisa Noor Humaidah and Bambang Soetono from the World Bank's Justice for the Poor team. The authors are grateful to Matthew Stephens, Senior Social Development Specialist, World Bank, the Philippines, who provided detailed comments on earlier drafts, and Ririn Purnamasari and Matthew Wai-Poi from the World Bank's Poverty Reduction team in Indonesia, who provided useful comments on issues in this note related to the targeting of poverty programs. Daniel Adler, Governance Specialist, World Bank, Cambodia and Jan Weetjens, Lead Social Development Specialist, World Bank, Indonesia provided insightful comments and guidance on the note. The World Bank's Justice for the Poor program in Indonesia is grateful for the support of AusAID and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Looking to the Future justice, including access to improved public service delivery. Lessons learned will inform broader access-to-justice pro- AusAID, the Family Court of Australia, and the World Bank grams currently being developed through the government of will continue to support the Government of Indonesia's ef- Indonesia's National Community Empowerment Program. forts to improve the livelihoods of women, the poor, or those living in remote areas through increasing their access to courts for family law matters. AusAID, working together What is Justice for the Poor? with the Family Court of Australia, is supporting Indonesia's Justice for the Poor (J4P) is a global research and Supreme Court in its efforts to improve the delivery of legal development program aimed at informing, designing, aid through the court system and increase the public's--and and supporting pro-poor approaches to justice reform. particularly the poor's--access to user-friendly information, It is an approach to justice reform that: thereby promoting greater access to the courts at the district · Sees justice from the perspective of the poor or level. In addition, AusAID will support the Supreme Court marginalized in developing an SMS database performance-monitoring and · Is grounded in social and cultural contexts evaluation system for the delivery of legal aid in the gen- · Recognizes the importance of demand in building equitable justice systems eral courts and work with PEKKA to collect data on demand · Understands justice as a cross-sectoral issue for court fee-waiver and circuit court services for family law cases to ensure that both the general and religious courts can Justice for the Poor in Indonesia is part of the AusAID-World more effectively respond to the needs of communities. Bank collaboration on the East-Asia and Pacific Justice for the Poor Initiative. This Initiative includes work in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and The World Bank will continue to support PEKKA in imple- Indonesia, as well as on regional thematic activities. menting the Women's Legal Empowerment program, expand- ing the number of locations to 13 districts in seven provinces. Contact us at j4p@worldbank.org and visit our Web site www.worldbank.org/justiceforthepoor for further Moreover, support will be provided to engage local govern- information. ments in those locations on policy issues relating to access to Justice for the Poor Briefing Notes provide up-to-date information on current topics, findings, and concerns of J4P's multi-country research. The views expressed in the notes are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Bank.