Govt seeks more time to discuss bill
Govt seeks more time to discuss bill
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government finally admitted on Tuesday that it would be
difficult to meat the Aug. 17 deadline for the establishment of a
constitutional court, and asked the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) to revise the transitory provisions of the 1945
Constitution.
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra
expressed doubts on Tuesday that lawmakers would finish
deliberating the bill on time, and that the constitutional court
would be up and running before Aug. 17, 2003.
"The government and the House should jointly ask the Assembly
to revise the transitory provisions of the Constitution," Yusril
said during a hearing on Tuesday with the House of
Representatives special committee charged with the bill's
deliberation.
The transitory provisions of the amended Constitution give the
government until Aug. 17, 2003, to set up a court to handle
constitutional disputes.
The absence of such a court would leave any disputes arising
from the legislative and presidential elections in 2004
unresolved, raising fears of a political vacuum.
Yusril's proposal, however, was flatly rejected by the members
of the House commission, who pledged to conclude the deliberation
of the bill on July 14, 2003.
Yusril argued that even if the lawmakers could finish the
bill's deliberation by July 14, setting up the constitutional
court would still require presidential approval.
The minister said President Megawati Soekarnoputri had
instructed him to be very careful in discussing the bill with the
House, considering its importance.
"With the message of the President, I cannot guarantee that
she will readily approve the proposed justices for the court,"
said Yusril, who was accompanied by Attorney General M.A.
Rachman.
According to the amended Constitution, the President, the
House and the Supreme Court (MA) will each name three justices to
sit on the nine-strong constitutional court bench.
The constitutional court will have the authority to settle
electoral disputes and conflicts among state institutions, and to
assess allegations of misconduct and abuse of power by the
President.
Committee chairman Zein Badjeber of the United Development
Party (PPP) said on Tuesday that the government would present its
draft on July 1 and would discuss this with legislators from July
4 through July 11.
"We plan to finish the bill on July 14 and will ask the House
steering committee to arrange an extraordinary plenary meeting,"
Zein said, referring to a plenary meeting held during recess.
Some legislators, however, doubted the committee would be able
to complete its work on the bill as scheduled.
Permadi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) and Zulkifli Halim of the Reform faction said that
the time allowed for deliberation was very limited.
Permadi suggested that the committee would discuss only the
articles on the establishment of the court. "The mechanisms and
procedures of the court will be discussed later," he added.
He also suggested that the Assembly outline the draft of the
revisions to the transitory provisions of the Constitution.
The mandate to set up the constitutional court as stipulated
in the Constitution was issued in August last year. But, the
House formed a special committee only early this month
Yusril disclosed that the government only received the
constitutional court bill from the House on June 4.
Megawati appointed the minister of justice and human rights
and the attorney general on June 18 to represent the government
in the deliberation process.