Government to replace 350 laws by end of 1999

JAKARTA (JP): The government is determined to replace 350 laws inherited from the Dutch colonial era by the end of 1999, a cabinet minister said yesterday.

Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said the laws made by the Dutch were no longer relevant to the current situation in Indonesia.

"We examine between 50 and 70 of the outdated laws every year, and hope to finish the revision program by the end of the (ongoing) sixth Five Year Plan.

"We may be unable to achieve that target, but at least we will complete drafts of the new laws," Oetojo said after attending a plenary meeting of the House of Representatives.

The meeting, chaired by House Deputy Speaker Soetedjo, endorsed the bill on company documents, a substitute of an 1847 colonial law. The bill was the eighth of 12 submitted by the Ministry of Justice since 1992. The House is expected to pass the remaining four by the May 29 general election.

The bill on company documents is the third approved by the House since it began its current session on Jan. 6. Another 20 are in the pipeline before the House members' tenure ends on Sept. 30.

Next week the House is expected to pass bills on copyrights, patents and trademarks, the 1997/1998 state budget and nuclear power.

Deliberations on two of the waiting bills, those on the environment and manpower, will start only next month.

The "nationalization" of the laws is a part of the national legislation program initiated in the early 1970s. The program obliges the Ministry of Justice to draw up a so-called masterplan of draft bills to be submitted to the House in a five-year term.

Oetojo hailed the House for its cooperative attitude during each bill's deliberation. "The House's wisdom has paved the way for the approval of every bill without sacrificing the depth and intensity of the deliberations," Oetojo said.

Legislators have complained that the legislation program always tends to mount toward the end of the five-year term.

Oetojo said the government had heeded the complaint and promised to solve the problem as quickly as possible.

"We are preparing a bill on law drafting guidelines which will replace the old one applied since the Dutch era," Oetojo said. "We hope to submit the bill to the House soon."

The bill on company documents recognizes microfilm and other electronic media as evidence in addition to conventional written evidence.

Oetojo said the new bill would allow companies to cut their documentary expenditure by Rp 2.4 trillion (US$1 billion) within the next 10 years.

The bill lets companies throw away their documents after 10 years, while the current law obliges them to keep all documents for 30 years. (amd)