The woman sitting on the front counter of the Salemba prison sounds authoritative when she asks two visitors to pay an administrative fee. When asked how much the fee is, though, she says, "It's up to you."

Once inside, the visitors have to pass through another gate to get to the room where the prisoners receive guests. But the man at the gate is more sure how much his "service" is worth. He wants 5,000 rupiah (57 US cents) first before he takes any visitor to see a prisoner or detainee.

''In this place, every move you make needs money,'' says Kisman Latumakulita, a Salemba detainee. ''This is disgusting, terrible kind of corruption committed by both low level employees of the Salemba prison and hoodlums. But that's the way it is.''

Kisman, however, is not really complaining. Sometime ago, the police caught him in possession of eight bombs inside a hotel in Central Jakarta. He is being charged with a crime that could mean years and years behind bars, but Kisman is confident he will soon be free.

Show me the money

''It's all about money,'' he scoffs. ''Once I get the money, I will make a deal with my lawyer, judge, attorney and the police. I will stand on trial but the judge will set me free. We call it 'priced verdict'.''

Recently, the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) released a report indicating that Indonesia has the worst judicial system in Asia.

But Indonesians themselves need not be told that their judicial institutions are suspect.

s Says Cik Hasan Bisri, a researcher at the Legal Institute of the State Islamic University (IAIN) in Bandung: ''The number of people seeking higher court proceeding after they get verdict in a trial is steadily increasing. This indicates that people are dissatisfied with the court ruling.''

s Part of the problem is that corruption now seems to have the judicial system in an iron grip. Even Supreme Court chair Bagir Manan says acute corruption has made the system act like a stock market than anything else.

''Clients, lawyers, judges and the police make transactions, bargaining on the price of a verdict,'' he says. ''This indeed causes a great concern.''

According to many observers, this explains why ''important people'' who are supposed to be detained at length for questioning or are already facing charges are soon walking the streets again.

House Speaker Akbar Tanjung, for instance, has been charged in connection with a 40-billion rupiah (US$4.6 million) corruption case. But after striking a series of deals with authorities, he spent only three days in detention at the attorney-general's detention house.

Prominent lawyer Elza Syarief was also arrested for allegedly paying Rahmat Hidayat to testify for her client, Hutomo 'Tommy' Mandala Putra, youngest son of former President Suharto, in a murder trial.

But while poorer detainees spend months behind bars, Syarief spent only five days in jail and is now back at work.

Low wages

Bisri says that the low wages of judicial personnel, including the magistrates, are among the reasons why corruption has made a mockery of the system.

He observes: ''A judge's salary is three million rupiah (US$342). Then he is offered a sum of money in a case involving 50 billion rupiah (US$5.7 million). Who will not be tempted?''

''Lower level employees' wages are about 700,000 to one million rupiah (US$80 to US$114),'' he adds. ''But they serve people who come to them in nice suit, luxurious cars.''

''When these men invite one of the employees to a fancy restaurant, give him some tip and ask for a little privilege and compensation,'' Bisri says, ''what is going to happen?''

Manan, for his part, thinks the low regard for laws in general may have something to do with what is happening.

He recounts: ''I visited regional court buildings over the last three months. And what I saw were old buildings with paints cracking, unattended rooms. In a regency in West Java, I was proud to see a beautiful local government building, but I was sad to find an old court building just next to it.

''It only shows that local government does not care about their judicial institution,'' says Manan. ''It is telling us further that they don't care much about law, about the supremacy of law.''

It has not helped that the Indonesian courts have become notorious for their snail's pace, resulting in cases taking years — sometimes decades — to finish. According to Manan, this is due in part to the lack of facilities.

He points out that many courts across Indonesia are still conducting business using rickety typewriters instead of computers. This has helped produce a huge backlog, with the Supreme Court alone having one totalling some 3,000 cases — and counting.

People's court

Dedi Haryadi, a staff member of the Bandung Institute of Governance Studies (BIG), remarks that it is thus not surprising that what is popularly called here as ''people's court'' is on the increase.

''People are watching trials like movies,'' he says. ''They distrust court rulings and decide to take the law in their own hands. Almost every day we hear news about people executing criminals in public places.''

But Haryadi believes something can still be done to correct the situation. For starters, he says, law students should be taught ethics alongside their more technical subjects. Law students should learn that winning is not everything, he adds.

Bisri echoes Haryadi in saying that the country's legal education needs a revamp. But he also says that the wages of legal personnel should be increased.

Says Bisri: ''The government should give raises in salaries of judges and judicial employees. This won't instantly improve performance of judicial institutions. But that's an unavoidable move to make.''