Government proposes amendment of judiciary law

Government proposes amendment of judiciary law

JAKARTA (JP): The government proposed amendments to the law on
the judiciary on Monday with the aim to empower the judicial
branch to act independently of the executive.

Although only two articles of Judicial Power Law No. 14/1970
were proposed for revision by the House of Representatives, the
government's representative, Coordinating Minister for
Development Supervision and Administrative Reform Hartarto
Sastrosoenarto, said they would end three decades of government
control of the judicial system.

If the amendments are adopted, the Supreme Court will take
over the Ministry of Justice's authority concerning
organizational, financial and administrative affairs of courts
nationwide. The Supreme Court also would oversee civil,
religious, military and administrative courts.

Due to the wide-ranging consequences of the measures, they
will be implemented in stages. A team set up to prepare
amendments to the law recommended that the transfers of duty be
completed five years after the new government takes office.

The Supreme Court also will be entrusted to litigate all
crimes involving both civilians and military personnel in open
trials. Currently, the court lacks the authority even to name
judges for such crimes. The authority is held by the minister of
defense and security affairs, with approval from the justice
minister.

"Violations of judicial law include the presence of vertical
and horizontal intervention in court decisions," he said.

"... Executive power has made the judiciary barren for more
than three decades. The judiciary, as one of the major vanguards
of the rule of law, has been unable to prevent all the
unconstitutional acts and serve as the last bastion in enforcing
law, justice and democracy."

Hartarto said in many developed countries, an independent
judiciary and legal system could work without needing a strict
separation of the executive from its judicial branch.

"In the wake of the reform era, a clear-cut separation has
been deemed the only solution and expectation to enforce the rule
of law in Indonesia."

Hartarto said the amendments were mandated by the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) during its Special Session in
November last year.

A team composed of members of the Supreme Court, Attorney
General's Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Religious
Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Security and legal experts was
formed to follow up the MPR decree.

Apart from the two proposed amendments, the team has suggested
an introduction of an honor council, with tasks to include
supervising judges, providing recommendations for recruitment,
promotion and rotation of judges, and drawing up a code of
conduct for judges.

The team also recommended that the Supreme Court be equipped
with judicial review, in which the court would be allowed to
examine outdated laws and regulations.

The MPR failed to agree on the Supreme Court's authority in
judicial review in its last three plenary sessions, with
particularly strong opposition from the ruling Golkar Party.
(05/amd)