Yusril: Law on Supreme Court should be revised

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice and Human Rights Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra suggested on Wednesday that the Law on Supreme Court should be revised to prevent future debate on the appointment of the Chief Justice.

"The Law on Supreme Court No. 14/1985 Law must be revised. The Ministry of Justice has completed the draft of the revision, but we have yet to submit it to the House, pending the appointment of the new chief justice," the minister said.

Yusril said the opinion of the new chief justice must be heard in connection with the revision.

Controversy has arisen over the article that stipulates the chief justice is to be selected by the President from among the justices nominated by the House of Representatives.

The House has nominated Muladi, a former Minister of Justice, and Bagir Manan, a former director general of law and order, for the vacant chief justice seat.

However, President Abdurrahman Wahid has refused to pick one of them, for two reasons -- because Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri did not approve the nomination and because the nominees have roots in the New Order regime.

There are two interpretations of the article. Some say that the president may reject the nominees, while others, including Yusril, believe that the president must choose one of them.

Yusril said that the law would be revised to ensure that in the future there will not be any ambiguity regarding the appointment of the chief justice.

Yusril said that the ministry had proposed that the House be authorized to choose the chief justice candidates and the president must then endorse one of the nominees.

"It is just like when the president endorses legislators who had been chosen by the people through a general election. The president just needs to endorse the result," he said.

According to Yusril, the president should not bear any political responsibility for endorsing the chief justice nomination.

Yusril also said that the ministry had completed the revision of several other laws, including the General Judiciary Law, State Administrative Judiciary Law, the Amendment of Criminal Code Procedures, Law on Prosecutors and Law on Correctional Institutions.

He added that the Supreme Court had also formed a team, chaired by Bagir Manan, to discuss the draft of the revision of Law No. 14/1985 on the Supreme Court. (01)