Rift over selection of Chief Justice continues

Rift over selection of Chief Justice continues

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representative's Commission II on Legal
and Home Affairs decided on Tuesday to keep the two candidates
previously proposed for the Chief Justice post and suggested a
dialog between the House speaker and President to solve the long-
standing dispute.

"In a bid to find a solution, Commission II recommended a
dialog between the President, the House speaker and faction
chairmen to end the difference of opinion," Chairman of
Commission II Amin Aryoso told journalists.

He emphasized that Commission II would not reexamine or have
further discussions about the two candidates as the original
selection had been decided democratically through appropriate
procedures.

"We appreciate the decision that obligates us to reexamine the
two candidates, but we feel that we are not in the position to do
so. So it is up to the House top brass now," Amin remarked.

Commission II member, Idrus Markam, told journalists the House
speaker should demand President Abdurrahman Wahid choose one of
the two candidates, as it was written in the constitution.

"It is clear that the President has a constitutional
obligation to choose one of the two candidates or he can be
considered in violation of the law, so the House speaker should
demand the President do so," Idrus remarked.

Last week, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said that the House
Consultative Body (Bamus) had decided that the selection of
candidates for the Chief Justice post be reviewed by Commission
II to find a solution to the impasse with Abdurrahman.

The month-long dispute developed after members of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) walked
out during the plenary session on Dec. 7 when former justice
minister Muladi and legal expert Bagir Manan were officially
nominated as chief justice candidates.

Muladi served as justice minister in the last Cabinet of
former president Soeharto and remained in the post under
Soeharto's successor, B.J. Habibie.

Bagir Manan, a law professor at state Padjadjaran University
in Bandung, West Java, also served Soeharto as a director general
of the justice ministry in the 1990s.

Abdurrahman has rejected both nominees claiming that both
candidates were known to be loyal to the New Order regime and to
be partisan. He then gave the mandate to appoint a chief justice
to Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

But, Megawati turned down the President's mandate and returned
the responsibility to him.

Separately, 48 supreme court justices -- including Muladi and
Bagir Manan -- issued a formal statement of concern on Tuesday,
urging the President and the House to solve the dispute as soon
as possible.

One of the justices, Paulus Effendi Lotulung, stated that the
justices demanded both state agencies respect the regulation on
the chief justice's election.

"The statement is just an initial step to face the absence of
chief justice of the Supreme Court," he remarked as quoted by
detik.com. (dja)