Expert urges independent law agency
JAKARTA (JP): The Agency for National Legal Development (BPHN) should be separated from the Ministry of Justice so it can act as coordinator for the drafting of bills in Indonesia, an expert said.
BPHN should play a greater role in the drafting of bills and act independently from the Ministry of Justice, lecturer Yusril Ihza Mahendra of the University of Indonesia said yesterday at a seminar on Effective and Efficient Government to Develop Regional Autonomy.
"BPHN should be made into a nondepartmental institution like the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP)," he said.
He added that BPKP gained greater authority to audit governmental departments after it was separated from the Ministry of Finance.
He added that the head of the agency should become state minister of law.
Yusril said the present system allows for each department to draft its own bills without direct consultation with either the Ministry of Justice or BPHN.
Such a situation he said often created confusion at the cabinet secretary's office which was responsible for delivering the bills to the House of Representatives.
The establishment of BPHN as an independent office also falls in line with the State Policy Guidelines which suggest the need to draw up a master plan of draft bills to be submitted to the House.
Yusril suggested that the state minister of law/BPHN's chairman should function as a coordinating party of drafting bills for the government.
"BPHN should make a priority list of the draft bills," he said adding that the list would indicate the urgency of a certain draft bill to be deliberated by the House.
The piling up of draft bills at the House has often forced it to hastily deliberate bills, Yusril said.
"The deliberation of bills in such a short period of time has raised questions among people on the quality of the bills," he said.
He hoped that BPHN could also propose a target date for draft bill completion within a particular term in order to create a better deliberation schedule. (10)