Constitutional court elusive as deadline nears
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With the deadline for the establishment of the Constitutional Court nearing, the President has yet to appoint a minister who will represent the government in the deliberation of the bill on the court.
The House of Representatives has held a series of hearings to listen to public aspirations regarding the bill, but has not formally started the deliberation of the draft law.
The legislators will only have three weeks to debate the bill before recess, starting from July 8. They will resume deliberations on Aug. 17, the same date as the deadline.
Besides, the House is also busy deliberating priority bills, particularly those on the presidential election and the composition of legislative bodies. The former is expected to be passed at the end of this month.
The amended 1945 Constitution stipulates that the Constitutional Court should have been established no later than Aug. 17, 2003.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Tuesday President Megawati Soekarnoputri would name a Cabinet minister soon to represent the government in the deliberation of the bill, which was drafted by the House.
"With only two months left, it will require extraordinary effort to solve the problem," Susilo was quoted by Antara, as saying.
Speaking after the meeting with the President, Susilo said the head of state suggested that an important bill like the Constitutional Court bill be discussed carefully so that it could be accepted by all.
A hasty deliberation, Megawati warned, would not produce quality and legitimate legislation.
Megawati emphasized that the substance of the bill was very fundamental because it deals with administrative relations of the executive, legislative and judicial institutions.
The Constitutional Court will have the authority to settle disputes over ballot counts, conflicts between laws and disputes among state institutions, to dissolve political parties and to give final judgments on violations committed by the president as presented by the House. The latter could lead to the impeachment of the President.
As the bill stands now, the court would consist of nine judges, with the government, the Supreme Court and the House entitled to choosing three each.
Meanwhile, chairman of House's committee for bill deliberation, Zein Badjeber, said on Tuesday exceptional steps would be taken to meet the deadline.
According to Zein, his committee had set a June 30 deadline to begin the deliberation.
"We will bring the bill to a plenary meeting for endorsement should the President fail to appoint a minister to represent the government during deliberation," he said.
He added that his committee had been waiting for a response from the government regarding the debate.
Zein, legislator of the United Development Party (PPP), said that almost all factions had agreed with the substance of the bill.
The House's committee for bill's deliberation had begun its activities by getting input from various organizations and held a series of internal meetings.
Although, the House's nine factions had reached a common understanding on the bill, some legislators expressed concern over the limited time available for them to discuss it.
A legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Agus Condro Prayitno said that it was impossible to finish the deliberation of the bill in only three weeks.
Asnawi Latif of the Daulatul Ummah Party (PDU) faction and Kohirin Suganda of the Indonesian Military/National Police faction also expressed concern about the time constraint.
"I do not know what will happen next if the Constitutional Court cannot be set up on time," he added.
Both the President and the House will have to make progress reports during the upcoming Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly between Aug. 1 and Aug. 10, including on the establishment of the Constitutional Court.