Gus Dur committed legal blunder: Expert
JAKARTA (JP): Observers said here on Monday that Abdurrahman Wahid committed legal suicide by issuing a legally baseless decree which included matters beyond his legal jurisdiction.
The weak legal basis of the decree was highlighted further when the Supreme Court's opinion, albeit not legally binding, confirmed that the decree was invalid, facilitating the way for the People's Consultative Assembly to oust him.
Constitutional law expert from the Surabaya-based University of Airlangga, Suwoto Mulyosudarmo, argued that none of the existing laws provide jurisprudence for the issuance of the decree.
He said the closest precedence was the decree issued by first President Sukarno on July 5, 1959 which dissolved the constituent assembly and reimposed the 1945 Constitution.
Suwoto contended that there were few parallels between the situation today and in 1959.
"The conditions behind the two decrees are very different. Even though the 1959 decree may be considered unconstitutional and undemocratic, it was fully supported. Gus Dur failed to see this," Suwoto told The Jakarta Post.
Abdurrahman sealed his presidential downfall on Monday when he issued a decree which among others attempted to suspend the People's Consultative Assembly.
The Assembly later revoked his presidential mandate saying that by issuing such a decree Abdurrahman had violated state guidelines.
Separately Supreme Court Justice Chief Bagir Manan on Monday dismissed Abdurrahman's accusations that the Supreme Court's opinion was void as it did not go through a Supreme Court proceeding but merely the chief justice himself.
Bagir argued that it was not mandatory and that the fatwa, the term widely used for the Court's legal opinion, is not legally binding.
"After receiving a letter from the House, we gathered Supreme Court justices to give our legal opinion on the situation," he told journalists after attending the Special Session's plenary meeting in the morning.
The Supreme Court under Law No. 14/1985 may provide a legal opinion to the government or other high institutions in the country.
Lament
Meanwhile the Association of Indonesian Law Graduates in a statement also lamented Abdurrahman's decision to issue such a decree.
"We support the Assembly revoking its mandate on the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid and the decision to inaugurate Megawati as the new president," its chairman Albert Hasibuan stated in a press release.
They maintained that the decree was "without legal basis and unconstitutional as it violated the 1945 Constitution, Assembly Decree No. III/1978 and other legal rulings."
Political observer Muhammad Budyatna of the University of Indonesia maintained that the key to the whole issue is whether the decree really had strong public and political support.
He contended that the legal arguments presented by both the president and his foes were merely tools used to justify their personal political ambitions.(bby)