Court rejects review request

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