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)