Law professor to chair Constitutional Court<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jimly Asshiddique, a professor of law at the University of
\nIndonesia, was elected on Tuesday as chairman of the newly
\nestablished Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Laica Marzuki, a judge at the Supreme Court, was
\nvoted deputy chairman of the Constitutional Court in an internal
\nelection that lasted more than three hours on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Laica was absent from the election due to illness.<\/p>\n
Both will serve the court for a five-year term starting this
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Eight of the nine Constitutional Court judges held their first
\nmeeting on Tuesday at the Supreme Court building in Central
\nJakarta, with the sole aim of electing the court's chairman and
\ndeputy chairman. The meeting was chaired by Achmad Rustandi, the
\noldest among the nine judges.<\/p>\n
The election was divided into two rounds -- the first to elect
\na chairman and the second a deputy chairman. Each judge had one
\nvote, which he could use to vote for himself if he so wished. All
\nnine are men.<\/p>\n
Jimly, who is closely associated with the Golkar Party, was
\nelected after he garnered five of the eight votes, while Laica
\ngot five votes in the second round, allowing him to assume the
\ndeputy chairmanship in the constitutional court.<\/p>\n
The court now has to establish internal rules and an
\norganizational body to support its tasks.<\/p>\n
\"Those issues will be discussed in the next meeting on Sept.
\n2,\" said Jimly, emerging from the three-hour meeting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Jimly said his office would send a letter to President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri requesting the appointment of a secretary-
\ngeneral for the court, which was established on Aug. 16.<\/p>\n
The secretary-general will be in charge of the court's
\nadministrative matters.<\/p>\n
Another immediate issue that the judges need to resolve is the
\nholding down of two jobs. All nine judges have other jobs that
\nthey will they have to quit as stipulated in the law on the
\nConstitutional Court signed by Megawati last week.<\/p>\n
\"It takes time to resolve these administrative matters, but we
\nhope we can solve them as soon as possible so that we can start
\nfocusing on the core function of the Constitutional Court,\" said
\nJimly.<\/p>\n
The Constitutional Court's tasks include settling election
\ndisputes and resolving problems arising among state institutions,
\ndissolving political parties if necessary and verifying whether
\nlaws are in line with the Constitution.<\/p>\n
The court was hastily set up last Saturday, after the House of
\nRepresentatives and the government deliberated the constitutional
\ncourt bill in just over one month, during which they disputed the
\nrequired qualifications for the judges.<\/p>\n
Before it establishes its own premises, the Constitutional
\nCourt will operate out of the Supreme Court building.<\/p>",
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