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.