Constitutional court elusive as deadline nears
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.