Gus Dur committed legal blunder: Expert<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Observers said here on Monday that Abdurrahman
\nWahid committed legal suicide by issuing a legally baseless
\ndecree which included matters beyond his legal jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
The weak legal basis of the decree was highlighted further
\nwhen the Supreme Court's opinion, albeit not legally binding,
\nconfirmed that the decree was invalid, facilitating the way for
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly to oust him.<\/p>\n
Constitutional law expert from the Surabaya-based University
\nof Airlangga, Suwoto Mulyosudarmo, argued that none of the
\nexisting laws provide jurisprudence for the issuance of the
\ndecree.<\/p>\n
He said the closest precedence was the decree issued by first
\nPresident Sukarno on July 5, 1959 which dissolved the constituent
\nassembly and reimposed the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
Suwoto contended that there were few parallels between the
\nsituation today and in 1959.<\/p>\n
\"The conditions behind the two decrees are very different.
\nEven though the 1959 decree may be considered unconstitutional
\nand undemocratic, it was fully supported. Gus Dur failed to see
\nthis,\" Suwoto told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman sealed his presidential downfall on Monday when he
\nissued a decree which among others attempted to suspend the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
The Assembly later revoked his presidential mandate saying
\nthat by issuing such a decree Abdurrahman had violated state
\nguidelines.<\/p>\n
Separately Supreme Court Justice Chief Bagir Manan on Monday
\ndismissed Abdurrahman's accusations that the Supreme Court's
\nopinion was void as it did not go through a Supreme Court
\nproceeding but merely the chief justice himself.<\/p>\n
Bagir argued that it was not mandatory and that the fatwa, the
\nterm widely used for the Court's legal opinion, is not legally
\nbinding.<\/p>\n
\"After receiving a letter from the House, we gathered Supreme
\nCourt justices to give our legal opinion on the situation,\" he
\ntold journalists after attending the Special Session's plenary
\nmeeting in the morning.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court under Law No. 14\/1985 may provide a legal
\nopinion to the government or other high institutions in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Lament<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the Association of Indonesian Law Graduates in a
\nstatement also lamented Abdurrahman's decision to issue such a
\ndecree.<\/p>\n
\"We support the Assembly revoking its mandate on the
\npresidency of Abdurrahman Wahid and the decision to inaugurate
\nMegawati as the new president,\" its chairman Albert Hasibuan
\nstated in a press release.<\/p>\n
They maintained that the decree was \"without legal basis and
\nunconstitutional as it violated the 1945 Constitution, Assembly
\nDecree No. III\/1978 and other legal rulings.\"<\/p>\n
Political observer Muhammad Budyatna of the University of
\nIndonesia maintained that the key to the whole issue is whether
\nthe decree really had strong public and political support.<\/p>\n
He contended that the legal arguments presented by both the
\npresident and his foes were merely tools used to justify their
\npersonal political ambitions.(bby)<\/p>",
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