Category Archives: Mahkamah Konstitusi

November 10, 2012 · 04:07

Reset the Indonesian judiciary? (Indonesia)

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud MD certainly has developed a reputation for making controversial statements. However, his recent proposal for judicial reform might be his most controversial yet. According to The Jakarta Post, in a recent speech, he advocated firing all enforcement officers and replacing them. His logic is that the only way to break the networks of corruption is to fill judicial institutions with individuals not plugged into the networks.

I actually don’t know of any country that has pursued such a drastic strategy. Pak Mahfud’s logic is sound, but I’d be shocked if Indonesia’s political elite agreed to it. However, if Pak Mahfud himself becomes a vice presidential candidate in 2014, he might have more opportunities to push his proposals.

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Filed under indonesia, judicial reform, Mahkamah Konstitusi

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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Filed under indonesia, Jimly, Mahkamah Konstitusi

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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Filed under indonesia, Mahkamah Konstitusi, Newmont

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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Filed under indonesia, Mahkamah Konstitusi

March 23, 2012 · 15:15

The MK lends an assist

A few weeks ago I posted a news article in which Indonesia’s Supreme Court and KPK agreed on a corruption case – no small news. Now, the Constitutional Case has supported the Supreme Court’s decision in another corruption case – this time dismissing a challenge against the constitutionality of the prosecutor’s appeal when a corruption defendant was acquitted. Read more in The Jakarta Post.

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Filed under corruption, indonesia, Mahkamah Konstitusi, Supreme Court