East Timor Law & Justice Bulletin

Earth Times Online 28/09/2008 Dili - Justice in East Timor has traditionally been measured out in water buffaloes. A goat theft costs one buffalo and a rape of a woman is worth two, although it varies from village to village. While it has never been institutionalized, the traditional way of meting out justice has remained an underpinning of village life on the impoverished half-island, even under 400 years of Portuguese rule.

After Indonesia's 1975 invasion, courts were established but not respected because of a corrupt system and judges. Since 2002 and following two years of United Nations interim rule, East Timor has been independent and eager to abandon the Indonesian system and adopt its own judicial system.

Legal aid groups said the best hope for East Timor is a formal judicial system with trained judges and lawyers. According to the country's constitution, everyone has the right to a fair trial and an attorney, and innocence is presumed until proven otherwise. There is no mention of water buffalo in the constitution.

But even as the National Parliament moves to finalize the nation's first penal code this month, a minor government official is on a crusade to formalize tara bandu - traditional law Timorese have used to preserve natural resources and regulate other matters of daily life.

Secretary of State for the Environment Abilio Lima has already persuaded about a third of the nation's 1 million people that everything from cattle rustling to rape are crimes best resolved outside courtrooms by water buffalo justice.

Last week, Lima was in Tulatakeo, a village a few hours south of the capital, Dili, as the government representative in a ceremony to mark the acceptance of traditional justice. Now, the village chief has the authority to treat serious crimes according to local whim.

"The advantage of tara bandu is that it comes from the community," Lima said. "Because it comes from the community, they have a responsibility to it."

According to Lima, the problem with East Timor's penal code is that it relies on Indonesian laws and was last updated in 1999, three years before the country gained independence.

"People who don't like Indonesia don't respect the laws," Lima said, "so we will use traditional law until we can agree on a national law."

Many judicial authorities in Dili said they were shocked at the moves by Lima, who has no legal authority to impose tara bandu or any system of justice.

"He's very wrong because he is operating outside the constitution and outside the judicial system," said Fernanda Borges, a member of Parliament who sits on its judicial oversight committee.

Borges said she would launch a parliamentary inquiry into the matter. However, some officials in the Justice Ministry seemed unconcerned with Lima's actions.

Although not informed about the environmental secretary's push for terra bandu, the permanent secretary for the minister of justice said he supported parts of the plan.

"Rape is a crime you can't resolve through tara bandu," Crisagno Neto said. "You have to take that to court."

However, Neto said smaller crimes like minor domestic violence could be resolved using traditional justice, a statement that contradicts East Timor's penal code.

"Domestic violence is a crime at whatever level," said Mitch Dufrense, head of the UN Justice Support Unit in East Timor. "The severity of the specified level is something for the court to decide."

Yet Neto said the courts in East Timor are not for everyone.

"Tara bandu is easier and faster in rural areas for people who have no money," Neto said, "but in cities and in areas where people have money, they can't use tara bandu. They need to go to court."

In East Timor, where unemployment hangs around 60 per cent and the average income is about a dollar a day, the majority of the population lives where they can farm and hunt for food. Under Neto's criteria, almost no one should go to court, and, as it stands today, virtually no one does.

The United Nations estimated that about half of all women in East Timor would be the victims this year of gender-based crimes, yet according to the local UN office, 132 of the estimated 250,000 victims have come forward to report such offenses to police. Instead of a courtroom and a judge, these women could visit the thatched hut of a village elder.

One such elder is Florindo Mesquita Lorego, a balding, snowy-bearded village chief in a hamlet hours away from Dili who, along with a dozen other village leaders, decides tara bandu cases.

"(Tara bandu) applies to people who are thieves, horse thieves, cattle rustlers and rapists," Lorego explained. "People who go into someone's garden without permission from the owner, that's a crime."

He said rape is not a big problem in his community, but it happens. "Rape is resolved with two cows, and you close the woman's wound," Lorego said.

Closing the wound means the perpetrator makes the problem better, and the problem with rape is damage to the family name. The two cows, as well as the occasional goat or pig, are given to the victim's family. Often one of the animals is killed, cooked and then the rapist and the men from the victim's family eat and drink palm wine together.

The woman is not involved, except to report what happened. The secretary of state for the environment has put his stamp of approval on such a system for about half the districts in East Timor and said he sees his portfolio as reaching far beyond ecology.

"I think the environment has a relationship with sexuality," Lima said. "When you talk about environment, you talk about the human environment, about the social environment. I focus on the total comprehensive environment."

East Timor no longer needs International Stabilisation Force-United Nations Police - Suara Timor Lorosae 16 September 2008
The Prime Minister of East Timor, Xanana Gusmao said on Monday (15/9/08) that the presence of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) and the United Nations Police (UNPol)is no lonber needed because they create difficulties for the country's Defence Force and its National Police in executing their functions.

"Timor should not accustom itself to getting into a situation where the people disturb each other, the solution has to come from foreign forces and in order to deal with arguments we have to ask for help from foreign police and then after that they start to accuse each other," Xanana explained.

Xanana added, "We see ISF wandering around East Timor though our force only stays in their headquarters; we see the United Nations Police wanting our police to ask permission from them should they want to deal with a problem, only complicating the problem."

CNRT Party Bench Leader in the National Parliament Eduardo Barreto "Dusae" said that Timor-Leste does not need the presence of the ISF here as the situation gets back to normal.

However, Fretilin MP Estanislau Aleixo da Silva said, the work of the PNTL is extremely challenging so there it needs continued capacity development and support. He also suggested the government choose a particular country to have comparative study for the officials of the PNTL.

Meanwhile, the UNPol Acting Commissioner Juan Carlos Arevalo believed that the PNTL is capable of taking the security responsibility. However, he added, UNPOL will keep monitoring the development of the PNTL in maintaining law and order here.

Government to cancel the purchase of two patrol boats – Timor Post 16 September 2008
Minister for Defense and Security Xanana Gusmao said on Monday (15/9) that he had ordered Secretary of State for Security Francisco Guterres to cancel the agreement of buying two patrol boats from China. The reason for the cancellation of the patrol boats purchasing is due to the increase in its original price.

"I have asked the Secretary of State for Security to cancel the agreement made with China in relation to the purchase of two boats and to request the return of money already paid" said Gusmao. Xanana also explained that during his recent visit to Australia he was frequently asked why Timor-Leste only want to buy boats from China.

"Australia nation questioned me why we always want to buy boats only from China however I told the Australian that we in Timor-Leste would like to buy two boats for maritime police but since China keeps increasing the price we then decided to cancel it," he added.

11 February ballistic examination to arrive in the next week says Attorney-General Monteiro – Timor Post 16 September 2008
East Timor's Attorney General Longuinhos Monteiro informed Monday (15/6) that next week the results of the ballistic examination into the events of 11 February which had been done by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) would arrive in Dili, paving the way for the justice process in the court.

Longuinhos visited Australia last week to closely monitor the investigation process where he found out that the investigators had establsihed several things, including the type of weapon used to shoot the President of the Republic.

He said that the user of the weapon has also been identified but due to existing law he could not tell the public while the investigation is underway. However, he added that once the results of the ballistic examination arrive, he would present them to the court.

66 newly recruited PNTL undergo basic training – Televizaun Timor-Leste 16 September 2008
At least 66 newly recruited members of the East Timor National Police underwent a basic training course in Dili recently in order to improve their knowledge and capacity to better serve the people and the country. The Director of the PNTL Academy Police Carlos Jeronimo said that the training was designed for 250 new members of the PNTL who could not complete their training due to 2006 crises.

He added that similar training would be given to 3,196 members of the active PNTL in the immediate future. Jeronimo stressed that those who did not take part in the training would have lost their rights to be members of the PNTL. Though the training itself is not easy, the participants were happy to take part in it as it would help them to improve their capacity in the future.

"I am happy because though the training is hard it is designed to improve our capacity, to have confidence building and to listen to each other and to respect each other in serving and protecting the people and the country," said Teodolindo Alves Correia.

Four of the participants are women and the training itself was carried out by the members of the PNTL.

IDPs in Watulari demanded Government's attention for their plight - Radio Timor-Leste 15 September 2008
Around 180 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Matahoi village in Uatulari demanded the attention of the state for their plight as they have been IDPs for more than two years but there is no humanitarian assistance provided to ease their suffering.

A spokesperson of IDP groups, Augusto da Silva, said Monday (15/9) that they have been IDPs since the 2007 post election political crises. However, he added, no state institutions had helped them out.He explained that there were lot promises, including from the President of the Republic, to help the group but to date those promises are still kept unfulfilled.

Traditional laws to be upheld? Radio Timor-Leste 15 September 2008
The head of Tulatakeu village in Remexio, Aileu said Monday (15/9) the village would apply traditional laws to regulate criminal acts such as homicide; stealing and destruction of environment should these things happen in the village.

Adolfo Mendonça said that based on the traditional laws there are two categories of penalties to be imposed.

He explained, for a serious offense, the perpetrator would be given penalties which include payment of a water buffalo, cash of US$50, a box of alcohol and a box of cigarettes.

However, for petty crimes, a perpetrator is demanded to pay a goat, a pig, a sack of rice, and US$25 cash.

He said that such penalties are agreed upon to restore law and order and respect for the environment in the village. The adoption of the local traditional law was also witnessed by the Secretary of State for Environmental issues, Abilio de Jesus Lima.

TL loses $36 M due to illegal foreign fishing - Radio Timor-Leste 15 September 2008
East Timor is estimated to lose more than US$35 million every year due to illegal fishing in its national territory by foreign ships.

National Director for the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Lourenco dos Reis Amaral, made the statement Monday (15/9) in relation to the loss on the Timor side due to illegal fish catching in the Timor Sea areas belonging to Timor-Leste. The figure is made based on the number of ships illegally fishing in the territory of Timor-Leste.

East Timor Law Journal - Towards the rule of law in Timor-Leste.