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.