Court rejects attempt to sink Water Law

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Constitutional Court rejected on Tuesday a petition from a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals to declare some articles of the controversial Water Resources Law (No. 7/2004) unconstitutional.

The petitioners claimed the legislation would turn water into a "tradable commodity" that is sold for profit, thus affecting the lives of millions of farmers and poor people.

The NGOs arguments were based on, among other things, Article 33(3) of the Constitution, which states that "the land and water and all the natural riches contained therein shall be controlled by the state and used for the benefit of the majority."

"The court is unable to accept the arguments of the plaintiffs," Constitutional Court President Jimly Asshiddiqie said. The hearing was attended by Minister of Public Works Djoko Kirmanto.

But the court also ordered the government to issue ancillary regulations for the legislation in line with the court's interpretation of it as set out in Tuesday's ruling. The court said that the government must ensure affordable access for the public to water resources.

Otherwise, the plaintiffs would be allowed to file for another judicial review of the legislation -- something that would be unprecedented in the court's two years of existence.

In its ruling, the court said that the government had the right to award licenses to private sector firms, cooperatives and the public sector to manage water resources.

The issuance of a license must be based on a "water resources management system," the establishment of which had to involve the participation of the public.

The court also ruled that the government and local administrations should subsidize water so as to reduce its cost.

"Local water utilities must be positioned as operational units of the state and fulfill the state's duty to provide guaranteed access to water for the public, rather than as profit-oriented companies," the verdict read.

Farmers must also be freed from their obligation to pay water management service charges. The court did not elaborate on this.

Meanwhile, two of the nine judges issued dissenting opinions based on fears that the legislation could cause the possible "commercialization" of the water sector. The two judges were Muktie Fadjar and Maruarar Siahaan.

After the hearing, Minister Djoko said that the government accepted the verdict. He added that the law was not intended to bring about the wholesale privatization of the water sector.

The minister said that the government was ready to issue ancillary regulations to implement the law, and was awaiting the approval of the President.

According to the critics, the privatization or commercialization of water resources would cause massive losses for the country's subsistence farmers, who account for an estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of the country's population.