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)