Legal activist slams constitutional court bill
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."