MPR urged to set up constitutional court<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Law experts called on the People's Consultative
\nAssembly (MPR) here on Wednesday to establish a constitutional
\ncourt that would have full authority to make a judicial review of
\nthe Constitution.<\/p>\n
J. Sahetapy, a professor of law at Airlangga University in
\nSurabaya, East Java, said an independent court was badly needed
\nto avoid conflicting interpretations of the Constitution and any
\nconflict resulting from such interpretations.<\/p>\n
\"We should learn from the recent conflict between the House of
\nRepresentatives and former president Abdurrahman Wahid regarding
\nthe House's investigation into Buloggate and Bruneigate and on
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly convening a special session
\nrecently,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Buloggate, which was a Rp 35 billion (US$3.8 million) scandal
\nat the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), and controversy
\nsurrounding a $2 million donation from the sultan of Brunei
\nprompted the House of Representatives to form a special committee
\nto investigate the cases.<\/p>\n
Based on the committee's recommendation, the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) later issued two motions of censure against
\nAbdurrahman. Ultimately, the MPR held the special session that
\nremoved him from office on July 23.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman charged that the House did not have the right to
\ncensure him or to remove him.<\/p>\n
\"The conflict between the House and Abdurrahman escalated
\nbecause of the absence of a constitutional court designed to
\ncorrect misinterpretation of the Constitution,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Sahetapy also recalled abuses of the Constitution by former
\npresident Soeharto with the aim of maintaining the status quo
\nduring the 32-year New Order government. He said such a thing
\nshould no longer happen.<\/p>\n
He explained that the Supreme Court could not do a judicial
\nreview of the Constitution because, according to the
\nConstitution, its position is on a par with that of the House.<\/p>\n
Asked about his comments on the Assembly's plan to set up a
\nconstitutional commission to help amend the Constitution,
\nSahetapy said both the government and the MPR should have a
\ncommon understanding on the concept of the commission and its
\ntasks and members because it was not regulated in the
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n
The issue ensued after President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nstressed in her state-of-the-nation speech on Aug. 16, 2001 the
\nimportance of establishing an institution in charge of amending
\nthe 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
\"The President's proposal is not bad but she should give a
\ndetailed explanation about the commission, its tasks and its
\nmembers to avoid confusion among the people and scholars,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Sahetapy, also a legislator of the Indonesian Democratic Party
\nof Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said the commission's main task
\nshould be making comprehensive amendments to the Constitution.
\nIts members should be professionals from universities, the
\nexecutive body and the House of Representatives, he said.<\/p>\n
He said he was against the idea of constitutional commission
\nmembers consisting of scholars because their status was not a
\nguarantee that they were impartial or independent.<\/p>\n
\"Most important is that the commission's members must leave
\ntheir political interests behind and work professionally to make
\ncomprehensive amendments so that the Constitution can last or be
\nworkable for at least three decades,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Dymiaty Hartono, a professor of law at Diponegoro University
\nin Semarang, Central Java, said that besides amending the
\nConstitution, the constitutional commission should also be given
\nthe authority to interpret the Constitution and to solve
\nconflicts stemming from the misinterpretation of the
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n
\"A constitutional commission should have been established at
\nthe start of the application of the Constitution because the
\nConstitution is too simple and unworkable,\" he said. (rms)<\/p>",
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