House of Representatives finishes revising judicial laws

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives (DPR) is scheduled on Monday to endorse two bills on the revision of the laws on public courts and on the state administrative court, as part of a sweeping reform of the country's judicial institutions.

Legislator Dwi Ria Latifa told The Jakarta Post on Sunday, however, the House was still unable to resolve questions over the draft revision of the law on prosecutors, which would complete the reform.

"We hope to endorse the revision of the law on prosecutor affairs in the next sitting period," she said.

The bills on the revision of Law No. 2/1986 on public courts and Law No. 5/1986 on the state administrative court would be the second and third draft laws endorsed by the House in its current session, after the water resources bill. Fifty-four bills were submitted to the House for deliberation during the current session, which ends on Friday.

After this session ends, the House will be on recess until after the general election on April 5.

Revisions to five laws relating to judicial institutions are needed as a consequence of the amendments made to the 1945 Constitution, which grants the Supreme Court complete authority over judges.

Revisions to Law No. 14/1970 on the authority of judges and Law No. 14/1985 on the Supreme Court were endorsed in December and took effect in January.

Following the endorsement of the bills revising the laws on public courts and the state administrative court, oversight of the country's judicial institutions will be handed over from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights to the Supreme Court.

The House also plans to discuss a bill on the establishment of a judicial commission. The formation of a judicial commission -- which would be responsible for the recruitment of judges -- is also mandated by the Constitution.

The bill revising the law on prosecutors would give the House an equal voice along with the president in the appointment of the attorney general.

Article 19 of the bill stipulates that the appointment and replacement of the attorney general can be carried out by the president only with the approval of the House.

The bill says the president must submit a list a candidates for attorney general to the House, which must give a response no later than 30 days after receiving the list.

The current law on prosecutor affairs says the appointment and replacement of the attorney general is solely the president's right.

Some revisions to the prosecutor law --------------------------------------------------------------- - Article 8: The prosecutor is a state official who is appointed and replaced by the president based on a proposal from the attorney general. - Article 19 (2): The president may appoint and replace the attorney general with approval from the House of Representatives. - Article 19A (2): The attorney general must not be younger than 40 years old or older than 65 years old. - Article 19D (1): The attorney general's term is five years. - Article 22A: The secretary-general responsible for the administrative and financial affairs of the attorney general's office is a civil servant. -------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Bill on prosecutors