by : M. Yamin Panca Setia

National Law Reform Contortium considered that the existence, independency and accountability of the Constitutional Court as the guardian of the constitution had to be strengthened through the revision of the Act on Constitutional Court currently on debate at the Parliament.

For the last five years after the establishment, the Constitutional Court had optimally been the court for constitution. Yet, the Contortium detected some problems related to the Court that had to be considered by the House of Representatives and the government in revising the Act.

Head of Daily Management Board of the Contortium, Firmansyah Arifin said, the problem dealt with the Court was about the inconsistency of government and Parliament in executing the decision of the Constitutional Court judicial review.

According to Firman, actually all parties had to obey the decision of the Court as a judicial institution. "But, we know that the decision is not easy to follow, or positively responded by various elements of the people, government, and Parliament, in fact there is a tendency that they refuse the decision," he said in Jakarta, yesterday.

Firmansyah reckoned that the Act regulated the period for Chief Justice, Vice, and members of the Court was five years and could be re-elected for the next five years. "Still, the election process is fragile from intervention of many parties indending to reduce the independency of the Constitutional Court. Because of that, we see the periodization have to be erased."

Related to the review of Act against the Constitution, the Contortium recommended that Article 50 of the Act on Constitutional Court be erased, also the authority of the Court to interpret the constitution, give legal consideration, information, advice concerning the constitution to whoever needed, be explained in detail. The Constitutional Court had also be better to have the authority for postponement of legal activity as the Act used as the ground for process was being reviewed.

Related to the authority to settle dispute over State Bodies Authority, it had to be made clear about the State Bodies mentioned in the 1945 Constitution.

Source http://jurnalnasional.com/?med=Koran Harian&sec=Politik - Hukum - Keamanan&rbrk=&id=63204&detail=Politik - Hukum – Keamanan

Photo Courtesy of Constitutional Court Public Relation Doc.
Translated by Yogi Djatnika