Court rejects review request

JAKARTA: The Constitutional Court rejected on Friday a request by a group of lawyers to remove an article in Law No. 22/2003 that allows legislative members to subpoena individuals, state institutions and private institutions.

The nine-member court rejected the petition on the grounds that the lawyers were not representatives of those "whose constitutional rights are affected by the law".

Law No. 22/2003 deals with the composition of the House of Representatives, provincial and regency legislatures, the Regional Representatives Council and the People's Consultative Assembly.

Article 30, paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the law allow members of these legislative bodies to ask law enforcers to subpoena individuals, state institutions and private institutions that have failed to answer their summons.

The lawyers had argued that the article was unfair because legislative members could not be sued or prosecuted for anything they said during their terms. --JP