One year of Constitutional Court

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.