Supreme Court to set up unit to review presidential decrees
JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court is planning to set up a special unit to review laws and presidential decrees in a move seen as an improvement on its earlier stance, under which it insisted it would only review legislation if requested to through a lawsuit.
When announcing the new development on Saturday, Supreme Court Secretary-general Pranowo and Deputy Chief Justice Syaifuddin Kartasasmita did not say when the new unit would be set up.
"We have received reports on a number of presidential decrees from the Indonesian Transparency Society (MTI), but we do not have a special unit to review presidential decrees, so we are trying to set one up," Syaifuddin said at the end of a three-day meeting attended by judges from throughout the country.
In October, the transparency society said that at least 79 out of 528 decrees issued by former president Soeharto between 1993 and 1998 were manipulated legally and materially to benefit his family and close friends.
The society said that decrees were often used to legitimize the abuse of power, giving it legal protection so that it could continue over a long period of time.
Syaifuddin said the Supreme Court would appoint a panel of judges to review presidential decrees singled out by the society.
Pranowo said the Supreme Court had the authority to review laws, decrees and regulations, but only if requested to do so through lawsuits.
"This system has been criticized by many people... and we feel that it is not in line with the spirit of reform. We all now want everything to happen faster," Pranowo said, pointing out that if reviews were contingent on lawsuits the process would be cumbersome and time consuming.
Legal experts have said the Supreme Court should be given the authority to conduct judicial reviews without a public request through the courts.
Pranowo also said that it was necessary to draw clearly separate institutions belonging to the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the state. That, he said, would allow them to exert effective controls on one another.
Three presidential decrees regarding large scale projects which would have involved displacing tens of thousands of people have been revoked by the government. The decrees covered the development of a new town in Jonggol, Bogor, West Java; a land reclamation project in North Jakarta; and a resort in Teluk Naga, Tangerang, West Java.
The transparency society said the contents of 46 decrees issued by Soeharto during his last five years in the presidency went beyond their jurisdiction. Eleven ruled on issues which should have been governed by laws or government regulations, 32 dealt with technical matters which should have been regulated by ministerial decrees, two ruled on matters which should have been covered by gubernatorial decrees, and one decree bypassed the judiciary.
MTI also cited two presidential decrees which have inflicted substantial losses upon the state and society. The two decrees were Decree No.93/1996, which granted financial assistance to PT Kiani Kertas, a company owned by Soeharto's long-term golfing buddy Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, and Decree No.42/1996, which exempt PT Timor Putra Nasional from taxes and duties levied on imported cars. The latter company is owned by Soeharto's youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra.
The society called on the government to review or annul all presidential decrees that were detrimental to the interests of the nation and made on an incorrect founding.
MTI also said that the House of Representatives should work harder to exert an effective control over the government and called on the People's Consultative Assembly to revise the sequence of steps required to introduce new legislation in the country. (byg)