Supreme Court to set up unit to review presidential decrees<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court is planning to set up a
\nspecial unit to review laws and presidential decrees in a move
\nseen as an improvement on its earlier stance, under which it
\ninsisted it would only review legislation if requested to through
\na lawsuit.<\/p>\n
When announcing the new development on Saturday, Supreme Court
\nSecretary-general Pranowo and Deputy Chief Justice Syaifuddin
\nKartasasmita did not say when the new unit would be set up.<\/p>\n
\"We have received reports on a number of presidential decrees
\nfrom the Indonesian Transparency Society (MTI), but we do not
\nhave a special unit to review presidential decrees, so we are
\ntrying to set one up,\" Syaifuddin said at the end of a three-day
\nmeeting attended by judges from throughout the country.<\/p>\n
In October, the transparency society said that at least 79 out
\nof 528 decrees issued by former president Soeharto between 1993
\nand 1998 were manipulated legally and materially to benefit his
\nfamily and close friends.<\/p>\n
The society said that decrees were often used to legitimize
\nthe abuse of power, giving it legal protection so that it could
\ncontinue over a long period of time.<\/p>\n
Syaifuddin said the Supreme Court would appoint a panel of
\njudges to review presidential decrees singled out by the society.<\/p>\n
Pranowo said the Supreme Court had the authority to review
\nlaws, decrees and regulations, but only if requested to do so
\nthrough lawsuits.<\/p>\n
\"This system has been criticized by many people... and we
\nfeel that it is not in line with the spirit of reform. We all now
\nwant everything to happen faster,\" Pranowo said, pointing out
\nthat if reviews were contingent on lawsuits the process would be
\ncumbersome and time consuming.<\/p>\n
Legal experts have said the Supreme Court should be given the
\nauthority to conduct judicial reviews without a public request
\nthrough the courts.<\/p>\n
Pranowo also said that it was necessary to draw clearly
\nseparate institutions belonging to the legislative, executive and
\njudicial branches of the state. That, he said, would allow them
\nto exert effective controls on one another.<\/p>\n
Three presidential decrees regarding large scale projects
\nwhich would have involved displacing tens of thousands of people
\nhave been revoked by the government. The decrees covered the
\ndevelopment of a new town in Jonggol, Bogor, West Java; a land
\nreclamation project in North Jakarta; and a resort in Teluk Naga,
\nTangerang, West Java.<\/p>\n
The transparency society said the contents of 46 decrees
\nissued by Soeharto during his last five years in the presidency
\nwent beyond their jurisdiction. Eleven ruled on issues which
\nshould have been governed by laws or government regulations, 32
\ndealt with technical matters which should have been regulated by
\nministerial decrees, two ruled on matters which should have been
\ncovered by gubernatorial decrees, and one decree bypassed the
\njudiciary.<\/p>\n
MTI also cited two presidential decrees which have inflicted
\nsubstantial losses upon the state and society. The two decrees
\nwere Decree No.93\/1996, which granted financial assistance to PT
\nKiani Kertas, a company owned by Soeharto's long-term golfing
\nbuddy Mohamad \"Bob\" Hasan, and Decree No.42\/1996, which exempt PT
\nTimor Putra Nasional from taxes and duties levied on imported
\ncars. The latter company is owned by Soeharto's youngest son,
\nHutomo Mandala Putra.<\/p>\n
The society called on the government to review or annul all
\npresidential decrees that were detrimental to the interests of
\nthe nation and made on an incorrect founding.<\/p>\n
MTI also said that the House of Representatives should work
\nharder to exert an effective control over the government and
\ncalled on the People's Consultative Assembly to revise the
\nsequence of steps required to introduce new legislation in the
\ncountry. (byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/supreme-court-to-set-up-unit-to-review-presidential-decrees-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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