All legislation to be subject to review<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, M. Taufiqqurahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives special committee currently
\ndeliberating a bill on the Constitutional Court agreed to give
\nfull authority to the planned court to review all legislation,
\nregardless of when it had been enacted.<\/p>\n
The committee made the agreement after scrapping contentious
\nArticle 56 in the bill, which stipulated that a request to
\nreview legislation should be submitted no later than 90 days
\nafter the law concerned had been enacted.<\/p>\n
Deputy chairman of the special committee Zainal Arifin said
\nthat with the deletion of the controversial articles, any
\nlegislation considered to be controversial or out-of-date would
\nbe subject to review by the Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n
According to the bill scheduled to be endorsed before Aug. 17,
\nbesides reviewing legislation, the planned Constitutional Court
\nhad the authority to try disputes between state institutions,
\nelectoral violations or crimes and misdemeanors committed by the
\npresident.<\/p>\n
The bill does not elaborate on what kind of misconduct could
\nbe brought before the Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n
The unclear definition of misconduct prompted legislator
\nTjetje Hidayat Padmadinata of the Indonesian Nationhood Unity
\n(KKI) faction to question whether the action of Taufik Kiemas,
\nhusband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, in hugging dangdut
\nsinger Inul Daratista, could be considered as misconduct.<\/p>\n
\"To me, Inul's gyrations are just healthy physical exercise,\"
\nTjetje said, referring to the dangdut singer's well-known
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the House committee is still divided over basic
\nrequirements for Constitutional Court judges.<\/p>\n
Some members insisted that the judges had to hold a law degree
\nfrom a renowned university while others felt that they should be
\nlaw college graduates. what's the difference?<\/p>\n
Lawyer-turned-legislator Trimedya Panjaitan predicted that
\nthere would be a debate on the educational requirement, linked to
\nthe ambition of some legislators to promote associates to seats
\nin the Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n
Legal activist Luhut Pangaribuan said that judges for the
\nConstitutional Court had to have a law degree because such an
\neducational background would equip them with the basic skills for
\ndoing their job.<\/p>\n
\"What I see, looking at justices in the Supreme Court, is that
\nthose with no legal background face difficulty in performing
\ntheir main tasks,\" he said.<\/p>\n
University of Indonesia legal expert Harun Alrasyid said that
\na law degree was a basic requirement.<\/p>\n
He said, as an example, that judges would be tasked with
\nproducing legal analyses, and therefore would require special
\nskills in handling legal matters.<\/p>\n
The Constitutional Court will also have a disciplinary arm, to
\nhandle judges violating its internal rulings and code of conduct.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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