BI governor withdraws court case

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 03/08/2008 12:11 PM  |  National

Bank Indonesia Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah has withdrawn a request to the Constitutional Court (MK) to examine alleged contradictions between the laws on the central bank and the Corruption Eradication Commission.

One of the Burhanuddin's lawyers, Dani Saliswijaya, said Thursday the state dispute category was not the proper legal course to take.

"We request the MK to drop the case," he told the panel of judges.

The central bank's legal counselors made the decision after a judge at the court, Abdul Mukhtie Fadjar, said BI lawyers "should put the case under the judicial review category".

"We also considered Judge Abdul's comment in this decision," Dani said after the trial.

BI had filed the request last month in connection to the recent KPK investigation of Burhanuddin on his alleged role in the misappropriation of central bank funds of Rp 100 billion (US$10.81 million).

BI lawyers argued the KPK could not investigate the BI governor without first asking permission from the President, as stipulated by a 2004 law.

However, a 2002 law stipulates that all special procedures regarding a corruption suspect are ignored.

The KPK, which declared Burhanuddin a suspect in January and has repeatedly called him for questioning, has yet to detain him.

After the trial, BI lawyers said they planned to file a judicial review on Monday.

"We will file the request with the MK to contest the KPK law," Dani said.

He added the request was necessary to ensure legal precedent if a dispute between a state institution and the KPK ever arose again.

"The BI governors can't do their job because they're not sure of the legalities involved; which one should they go by?" he said.

Separately, Constitutional Court chairman Jimly Asshiddiqie urged lawyers and advocates to study MK procedures before submitting a plea.

"Every state official and state institution needs to know what procedures we are following here in the MK," he said.

"It's a different court than the Supreme Court. The MK does not perceive the level of authority as the legal weight," he said.

Jimly said the MK would also help if the lawyers presented materials relevant to their request.

"If it's not 'sophisticated' enough, then we might as well deal with other more important cases," he said. (anw)

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