Legal Reform in Peace-building: Judicial Development in East-Timor

Abstract

This article reviews the construction process of newly emerged East Timor. Though the problematic situation of East Timor is not a typical armed conflict, this case show well the complexity of contemporary conflict, as well as relation between peace-building and legal development.

Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975 and brutal occupation for almost 25 years are the most serious cause of conflict in East Timor. However, the East Timor conflict is not mere national liberation war by Timorese against Indonesia, but also that of various internal conflicts within Timorese society itself, e.g. conflicts among different political ideologies, attitudes toward Indonesia, ethnicities and localities. This multi-axis confrontation is the characteristic of a “complex political emergency”. Peace-building of East Timor has been fully supported by international society, and the mandate of the UNTAET is broader than any other previous PKOs. Thus, this article tries to review how these two specific situations have affected to legal and judicial development in post-conflict East Timor.

First section outlines the conflict of East Timor. In second section, I review the legal development and constitution making under the UNTAET. Third section focuses on the construction of judicial system. As “Timorization” is a keyword for new Timorese judiciary, the UNTAET tried to employ local but least experienced lawyers. At the same time, Timorese judiciary has to depend on International judges, prosecutors and public defenders in order to address cases after conflict. International supporting projects for judicial reform are reviewed here, too. Finally, in order to identify challenges of judicial reform and judicial independence in post-conflict society, the author takes the status of International judges up, and explains how executive and legislative branches intervene to judiciary.