Supreme Court submits legal opinion

Supreme Court submits legal opinion

JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court completed on Wednesday
deliberations, as requested by the government, who had asked the
court to rule the legality of a special session of the People's
Consultative Assembly.

However, Supreme Court justices were tight-lipped on their
conclusion saying that it had to be delivered to the President.

Supreme Court chief Bagir Manan said the court's special team
had concluded their legal opinion and they will submit it
directly to President Abdurrahman Wahid as soon as possible.

He pointed out that the opinion was not legally binding.

"Our legal opinion is based on the differences in
interpretation over the special session. But, because the
President asked for it to be confidential, we cannot reveal it
now," he told reporters, two hours after the team concluded their
meeting.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa appealed
again on Tuesday to the Supreme Court to issue an edict on the
validity of the House of Representatives' censure motion, which
was based on the President's alleged involvement in two financial
scandals.

Bagir had initially insisted that the Supreme Court would not
be caught up in the political impasse as it was not directly
related to their work.

"We eventually took on the task as we had been requested by
the government, as stipulated in Article 33 of Supreme Court Law
No. 14/1985, which states that the Supreme Court may issue a
legal opinion if it is asked or not by either an important
institution or the highest-state body.

"But the Supreme Court's legal opinion is not legally binding,
so therefore it cannot be used as a guide for the ongoing
political process," he explained.

A source close to the Supreme Court justices told The Jakarta
Post that the Supreme Court, in its answer to the government,
refused to give any legal opinion, contending that the most
appropriate institution to give an opinion on political disputes
is the Assembly, not the Supreme Court.(02/bby)