Ombudsman needs strong legal framework: Observer
Ombudsman needs strong legal framework: Observer
JAKARTA (JP): The existence of the government-sanctioned
National Ombudsman Commission needs the backing of a strong legal
foundation to enable it to effectively monitor executive and
judicature institutions, a legal observer said on Friday.
Jimly Asshiddiqie of the Habibie Center stressed the
importance of regulating it in the Constitution and not merely
depending on presidential instruction.
"Before a law on the commission can be realized, its legal
basis should be formulated in the next amendment of the
Constitution in an article on its legislative function," he told
a one-day seminar on the ombudsman regulation in the
Constitution.
"By strengthening the legal basis of the ombudsman, its
position will improve, thereby enabling it to be clearly related
with the monitoring function of the legislature to the
performance of the administration. Its existence will also
empower the legislative institution," Jimly added.
The commission was established last year under Presidential
Decree No. 44/2000 with the aim of supervising and monitoring the
services of the executive and judicature institutions.
The commission, which has the power of giving recommendations
to the above-mentioned institutions to change their performance,
receives public complaints on losses, injustices or inappropriate
treatment in their interaction with the institutions.
Commission chairman Antonius Sujata, who also spoke at the
seminar, shared Jimly's remarks, saying that many people were
increasingly depending on the commission.
He said that as of Aug. 25 the commission had received 2,111
complaints and most of the recommendations regarding the cases
that were sent to the institutions had been responded to well and
to the public's advantage.
"This fact shows that the commission cannot be dissolved
easily. In the eyes of the international community, an ombudsman
body is considered to be an indication of a democratic country,
which upholds the people's rights and gives emphasis to the fight
against corruption.
"Should the commission be dismissed because of its weak legal
foundation, it would set a bad precedence," he said.
Antonius added that out of the 107 countries which have an
ombudsman body, at least 50 have regulated it in their
constitution.
He argued that under the new legal foundation, the commission
would be expected to become a supervisor for the improvement of
the state's other institutions, especially in further creating
good governance.
"I feel that at this time, some of these institutions,
including the police, are still reluctant to accept our
existence. This shows that they are still in a corruptive and
non-reformative situation," he added. (bby)