PDI urges strengthening of Supreme Court
PDI urges strengthening of Supreme Court
JAKARTA (JP): The minority faction Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) insisted yesterday that the People's Consultative Assembly
give the Supreme Court the judicial right to review laws.
The bid, however, is being challenged by the other four
factions in the Assembly. An Assembly session discussing the
issue was left undecided yesterday, pending a lobby to persuade
PDI to accept the majority's vote.
"We are trying to avoid the use of voting to maintain our
decision making process to proceed under the guidance of
deliberation for agreement," said spokesman for the United
Development Party (PPP) faction, Zain Badjeber.
The session will resume Thursday.
PDI spokesman Ismunandar told the Assembly ad hoc committee
deliberating non-state policy guidelines decrees that the Supreme
Court's right to judicial review was necessary to scrap the long
list of laws which were not in line with the constitution.
"The 1985 law on political parties and Golkar is one of the
most outstanding examples. It does not stipulate anything about
freedom of speech and political affiliation as demanded by the
constitution," Ismunandar said.
The 1945 Constitution does not say anything about the Supreme
Court's authority to judicial review of laws.
It prompted the Assembly to make a 1978 decree on judicial
review valid only for regulations below laws, on grounds that
laws be set up by the President with the House of
Representatives' approval.
The constitution says that the two state institutions are
equal to the Supreme Court.
Golkar, the Armed Forces and the regional representatives
factions referred to the 1978 decree as grounds to deny PDI's
proposal.
"How can the Supreme Court review the products of equal
institutions?" Golkar spokesman Andi Mattalata asked.
He said the judicial review commonly applied only in liberal
countries which recognized separation of legislative, executive
and judicial powers.
The Armed Forces faction said the 1985 Basic Law on Justice
already stated that the Supreme Court could suggest the President
and the House change certain laws if they violated the
constitution.
PPP spokesman Badjeber said the Assembly had the judicial
review authority. The Moslem-based faction has demanded the
Assembly establish a decree which empowers itself with the right
to judicial review.
In the other session deliberating the State Policy Guidelines,
PDI and PPP joined forces to persuade the Assembly to set up
decrees on the general election and political organizations.
"A more democratic life has now become a basic human need ...
Everybody around the world sings the song of democracy and makes
it the top hit," PPP spokesman Muhammad Buang said.
PPP and PDI said a democratic political system required fair
and honest general elections, in which the government plays a
neutral role by refraining from backing a certain poll contestant
and recognizing all political organizations as joint election
participants.
Golkar spokesman Rully Chairul Azwar defended the exclusion of
poll contestants from general elections, adding that in the
future "poll contestants would play a greater role in a general
election's planning, implementation and control". (amd)