One year of Constitutional Court

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

The Constitutional Court celebrated its first anniversary on Friday, citing as several accomplishments the resolution of cases related to the 1945 Constitution.

Court president Jimly Asshidiqie said in his speech that the court had managed to deal with 20 judicial review cases and 274 election disputes in the past year.

"This series of successes can hopefully become part of the country's legal legacy to ensure constitutional democracy in the future," Jimly said in his speech.

Noted decisions taken by the court include a ruling on Law No. 16/2003 on the retroactive application of Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism, the lifting of a ban on former members of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the rejection of a petition suggesting that the Indonesian Broadcasting Committee (KPI) was the reincarnation of the now-defunct Ministry of Information.

"These were three requests for judicial review that we accepted, but due to the nature of each case the decisions provoked widespread public debate," Jimly said.

The most notable election dispute the court settled was the rejection of a complaint filed by eliminated presidential candidate Wiranto and running mate Solahuddin Wahid, who claimed that some 5.4 million votes of theirs in the July 5 presidential election were lost.

The Constitutional Court was established last year to carry out judicial review, settle election disputes, decide disputes between state agencies and determine whether the President had violated the 1945 Constitution in several cases.

This was the first time the country had a separate agency to deal with these constitutional matters, after 58 years of independence.

At a ceremony, President Megawati Soekarnoputri praised the success of the court, saying that the establishment of the agency had brought new hope for all citizens in defending their constitutional rights.

She emphasized that, despite many doubts and questions on the extent of the court's authority, the country should respect decisions taken by the court.

"All of us must respect the court, and it is important to allow it to conduct its duties as stipulated by the Constitution," the President said.

The celebration was also marked by the new construction completion of a new building to accommodate? the court adjacent to the current complex on Jl. Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta.

Apart from Megawati, the celebration was also attended by noted politicians such as House of Representative Speaker Akbar Tandjung, People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, presidential candidate Wiranto and his running mate Solahuddin Wahid, vice president candidate Jusuf Kalla, cabinet ministers and other political party leaders.