Public encouraged to file lawsuits against decrees
Public encouraged to file lawsuits against decrees
JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court has encouraged the public to
file lawsuits against presidential decrees which are considered
to have been manipulated materially and legally to benefit
certain parties, Antara news agency reported on Thursday.
Supreme Court Chairman Sarwata said the public, especially
those who have suffered because of the decrees, could fight for
justice in the courts.
"We are open to any lawsuits. The public can file lawsuits
with the district court or directly to the Supreme Court," he
said after swearing in five new judges at the Supreme Court here
on Thursday.
The new judges are Parman Suparman, Paulus Effendi Lotulung,
Usman Karim, Achmad Syamsudin and Arbijoto.
The independent Indonesian Corruption Watch revealed recently
that at least 39 of more than 500 decrees issued by former
president Soeharto were legally and materially manipulated to
benefit certain parties.
A study conducted earlier by the Indonesian Transparency
Society's (MTI) legal team revealed 79 decrees which it said
should be revoked on similar grounds.
On Thursday MTI founder Mar'ie Muhammad said it was
"heartening" that the government had apparently responded by
revoking three decrees -- the one on the Jonggol area
development, the Kapuk Naga reclamation, both in West Java and
the reclamation of North Jakarta.
Until then, presidential decrees had been considered virtually
untouchable. In 1994 the Indonesian Environment Forum (Walhi)
filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against Soeharto for issuing a
decree allowing the loan of Rp 400 billion from the reforestation
fund to the aircraft manufacturer PT Industri Pesawat Terbang
Nusantara (IPTN).
Sarwata added that Supreme Court Ruling No.193 allowed the
public to file such lawsuits.
The Supreme Court has the authority to review laws, decrees
and regulations on the basis of lawsuits. While legal experts
have said the Supreme Court should have the authority to conduct
judicial reviews without public request, Sarwata said authority
over judicial reviews lay in the hands of the People's
Consultative Assembly.
Former Supreme Court chairman Purwata Gandasubrata, who was
also at Thursday's ceremony, agreed the court should review
presidential decrees which have caused "suffering and material
losses."
Purwata added that the public should lodge complaints with the
House and the MPR and ask the legislative bodies to review the
decrees.
"The DPR and the MPR should ask the president to account for
decrees which run against the law and the constitution," he said.
The judges appointed on Thursday replaced those who have
reached their mandatory pension age. A total of eight judges have
just retired from the court. They are Yahya, Mochamad Iman,
Soenarjo, Mochamad Djanis, A. Saniman, Chaeruddin Siregar, Abdul
Samad and Paulus Wardojo. (rms)