Legal activist slams constitutional court bill

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A legal activist criticized on Friday the bill on the constitutional court currently being deliberated by the House of Representatives, saying the draft gave little power to the planned court.

Firmansyah Arifin of the National Consortium for Legal Reform (KHRN) said there seemed to be an effort by both the government and legislators to limit the authority of the constitutional court to an advisory role.

The bill, which the House drafted, stipulates that the constitutional court give the final judgment on whether the president has violated the Constitution.

The court's judgment, however, is not binding, as the final decision on whether to impeach the president rests in the hands of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which consists of the House and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD).

Firmansyah suggested that on the impeachment issue, the Assembly should abide by the court's decision on violations committed by the president.

"If the MPR fails to heed to the decision, the credibility of the court will be put at risk," he said during a press briefing here.

Firmansyah also criticized a plan by the House and the government to put a time limit on the court to review laws.

"Past experiences shows us that reviewing a law might take a long time. Moreover, the time restriction will only diminish the role of the court as the watchdog of the Constitution," he said.

He also questioned part of the bill that says only the government and the General Elections Commission can present themselves as plaintiffs in the dissolution of political parties.

Political parties are public institutions, therefore the public had every right to control their activities, he said.

The amended 1945 Constitution mandates the establishment of a constitutional court with the authority to settle disputes over ballot counts, conflicts between laws and disputes among state institutions, as well as being able to dissolve political parties and to give final judgment on violations committed by the president.

As the bill stands now, the court will consist of nine judges, with the government, the Supreme Court and the House each entitled to appoint three judges.

An activist from the Center for Electoral Reform, Bambang Widjojanto, said that given the strategic role the court will play, the public must closely watch the appointment of its judges.

"I believe the selection of the judges will be marred by horse-trading, as happened during the selection of the Supreme Court justices," he said.

The government will certainly nominate candidates that back its interests, and if it can work with a party with a majority of seats in the House, its dominance of the court will be secured, Bambang said.

"If they manage to do this, six out of nine judges would side with the government. This is why the issue of recruiting the judges will be of great importance."