Category Archives: indonesia

September 30, 2012 · 07:03

Jimly and the contractors (Indonesia)

Former Mahkamah Konstitusi Chief Justice Jimly Asshidiqie likes to cite the construction of the new Mahkamah Konstitusi building as typical of his stand against corruption. Jimly claims that he told contractors not to pay out bribes, which both reduced costs and improved the quality of construction. Having spent a good many hours in the Mahkamah Konstitusi building this past summer, particularly the library, I have to say I came away impressed with its facilities.

As such, graft suspect and former Democrat Party Treasurer M. Nazaruddin’s allegations that graft occurred during the construction of the Mahkamah Konstitusi really struck home. As reported in The Jakarta Post, Jimly struck back hard and fast:

“All stages in the construction project, from its planning to execution, had been certified as exemplary project,” Jimly said.

The article makes no mention of how much graft was allegedly involved. Still, given Nazaruddin’s history, there’s no reason to give him the benefit of the doubt.

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August 1, 2012 · 01:59

Follow the money (Indonesia)

A short but interesting article in The Jakarta Post:

Judges’ financial transactions to be tracked

(30/07/2012) The Judicial Commission said it would use data from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) to asses the performance of judges in the country.

Deputy chairman of the Judicial Commission, Imam Anshori Saleh, said that the commission would launch investigations against any judges who had suspicious transactions in their bank accounts.

“This is part of our efforts to maintain the integrity of judges,” Imam said as quoted by kompas.com.

The commission has signed a deal with the PPATK under which the former can obtain the financial records of all the judges in the country.

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August 1, 2012 · 01:50

Newmont not for sale (Indonesia)

Indonesia’s Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi) has barred the central government from purchasing a 7% stake in Newmont Mining’s Indonesian assets. According to The Jakarta Post, the majority argued that the government needed to submit the purchase to the House of Representatives (DPR) first for inclusion into the budget.

However, the decision was a close, with 4 dissenters. The dissenters argued that the state has a constitutional obligation under Article 33 to own and manage natural resources (as exemplified by the 2004 Electricity case).

It seems like the majority opinion focused on the procedural issue of legislative approval, not whether the state can purchase the shares. The case does not include any concurring opinions, so it is not yet clear to me whether the majority would refuse to uphold the sale next year if the DPR includes it in the budget.

Full decision (in Indonesian) available here.

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April 20, 2012 · 14:11

A constitutional right to smoke? (Indonesia)

If somebody had asked me whether any court had upheld a smoker’s right to smoke, I’d have guessed no. However, Indonesia’s Mahkamah Konstitusi comes pretty close with its most recent decision. This week the court ruled that a government ban on smoking in public spaces must also require public spaces and workplaces to establish “smoking rooms” for anybody who wishes to tar up their lungs. According to The Jakarta Post, in reading the decision out, Chief Justice Mahfud argued that, “should the government fail to provide smoking rooms in state agencies; it would eliminate the right of smokers to smoke.” I’m not quite sure where the justices are finding this “right” – it’s certainly not in the plain text of the Constitution. If anything, it reminds me of the substantive due process jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court, which established a “penumbra” of privacy rights.

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April 11, 2012 · 00:25

Judges on the march

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/04/10/sby-asks-his-ministers-help-improve-judges-welfare-spokesman.html

Judges in Indonesia seem set to strike in protest against their low wages. According to The Jakarta Post, “Monthly salaries of low-ranking judges range from Rp 2 million (US$218) to Rp 6 million.” While research suggests that low wages alone does not cause corruption, it is certainly important not to forget that government officials need to earn their keep as well. The Post also reports that SBY’s administration at least wants to appear receptive to their claims:

“The President has heard the judges’ voices and has asked related bodies, such as the Administrative Reforms and Finance Ministries to study their aspirations,” Julian told reporters at the Presidential Office.
Julian, however, could not confirm if the salary increase for judges would be implemented this year as the revised 2012 State Budget had just been approved by the House of Representatives.

We’ll see how this plays out over the next few weeks. In the meantime, it is interesting to note that former Constitutional Court chief Jimly Ashidiqqie joined the judges and appears to be advising them.

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Filed under indonesia, salary