Impeachment law needed to prosecute presidents

Impeachment law needed to prosecute presidents

BANDUNG (JP): Indonesia needs a law to impeach a president,
constitutional law expert Sri Soemantri says.

Soemantri said that Indonesia had no regulation on crimes
committed by a president nor an appropriate institution to take
him or her to court.

There have been mounting calls for a law to bring erring
presidents to court, owing to the government being expected to
soon declare former president Soeharto free of all charges.

"The idea to draft such a bill is not a new one. It was
discussed in the past, but instead what came up was a law on the
presidency as an institution," Soemantri said here recently.

The Attorney General's Office is expected to unveil the
results of its year-long investigation into Soeharto's alleged
corruption on Friday.

Politically, a president is accountable to the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) for the implementation of the State
Policy Guidelines, Soemantri said, but for other crimes committed
it is difficult to prosecute a president.

Such a law exists in the United States, he said, citing the
law that was invoked to bring about President Bill Clinton's
impeachment trial.

The 1945 Constitution provides wide-ranging authority to the
country's president, a fact that has been proven to overshadow
the legislative and judicial branches.

"Partial amendment to the 1945 Constitution or even a new
constitution is needed. As the highest state institution, the MPR
has the right and the authority to do the job," he said.

Soemantri doubted that the upcoming MPR General Session would
amend the Constitution, saying that it would only end up with
setting up a team or a special commission to change the contents
of the Constitution.

According to MPR Decree No. 10/1998, he said, President
Habibie will give his accountability speech to the newly elected
MPR members. Ideally, he said, the President should address his
accountability speech to the MPR members who installed him.

He said the decree could be changed, but clearly it would not
be applicable to Habibie's accountability for the past year.
(43/06)