Deputy Minister Of Law And Human Rights: Being An Advocate Is Too Easy Even Though It Is A Noble Profession

Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights (Wamenkum HAM) Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej/PHOTO VIA ANTARA

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights (Wamenkum HAM) Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej said being an advocate in Indonesia is too easy, even though being a lawyer is a sacred and noble profession.

"Perhaps this needs to be a concern for Pak Luhut and Pak Juniver who have an advocate organization. I think that being an advocate must be strict," said Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej at the launch of training on the direction of continuing legal education at advocate organizations, quoted by Antara, Friday, November 12.

He mentioned about 10 or 12 years ago, Prof. Omar Sharif Hiariej once conducted a study that raised the recruitment patterns and career paths of law enforcement officers.

The respondents of this research were the police, lawyers, prosecutors, and judges. In his research, he found that recruitment is still a problem in itself.

To become prosecutors, judges, and police, each has had schools through education and training. However, to become an advocate, it can be said that a new graduate who holds a law degree, it is enough to attend education for a few weeks or only a few months then he can become an advocate.

"I don't think it should be that easy," said Prof. Omar Sharif Hiariej.

In the research conducted several years ago, he also compared the education of law enforcement officers in Indonesia and the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, a person who has just graduated from a university when he wants to become a judge, has to go back to school for 7 years. If you want to become an advocate, you must have at least 2 years of schooling.

"In Indonesia, the career path is not clear. There is a National Police Chief after retiring to get an advocate card, there is also a former Attorney General who has a card as an advocate," he said.

According to him, it will become a psychological problem in itself when the former Attorney General meets the new prosecutor in a court in a case.

"So, I'm sorry, it seems that being an advocate in Indonesia is very easy, even though we know that advocates are noble professions," he said.