House, govt to vote on court bill, but still mulling judicial criteria
House, govt to vote on court bill, but still mulling judicial criteria
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives has one issue left to resolve before
the Constitutional Court bill can be endorsed, and plans to hold
a vote on whether to pass the bill when it convenes on Thursday.
After a series of negotiations, the House and the government
failed on Wednesday to reach an agreement on the educational
background of candidates who will sit on the new court, the one
contentious issue left to resolve since deliberation began on
June 24.
Lawmakers and government officials involved in the
deliberation remain divided on whether a candidate must have a
degree in law to serve as a Constitutional Court judge.
"The government insists that only law graduates should be
eligible for judicial positions in the court, while the House
factions are divided," legislator A.M. Luthfi of the Reform
faction told The Jakarta Post after a closed-door meeting on
Wednesday.
He said his faction was of the opinion that a degree in law
need not be compulsory for someone vying for a judge's post at
the Constitutional Court, and that it was more important for a
candidate to be professional and have a good knowledge of the
Constitution.
Legislators from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan), Golkar and the United Development Party (PPP)
were also split over the matter, Luthfi said.
Meanwhile, legislator Sofwan Chudorie of the National
Awakening Party (PKB) said the mechanism for replacing
Constitutional Court judges also remained hanging in the balance.
"I am afraid the deliberation cannot be finished on time,"
Luthfi said.
If the issue remains unsettled, the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) may need to revise the Aug. 17 deadline set for
the establishment of the Constitutional Court -- as mandated in
the amended 1945 Constitution -- during its Annual Session from
Aug. 1 to Aug. 10.
Although the Constitution was amended in Aug. 2002, the House
and the government only started debating the Constitutional Court
bill 10 months later.
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra
admitted during the first deliberation on June 24 that it would
be difficult to finish the deliberation of the bill within such a
limited time.
Yusril recommended that the government and the House jointly
ask MPR to change the deadline for the court's establishment.
House legislators have all been invited to attend the plenary
meeting on Thursday to decide whether to pass the bill or not.
The absence of the court would leave any disputes arising from
the legislative and presidential elections in 2004 unresolved,
which has raised fears of a power vacuum.
Even if the House endorses the bill on Thursday, there remains
the question as to whether the court would be set up by Aug. 17,
as it will take time to recruit the nine Constitutional Court
judges.
Under the amended Constitution, the House, the President and
the Supreme Court (MA) are to each appoint three judges to the
court.