Retirement age of justices may be extended to 70 years

Abdul Khalik ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 09/22/2008 12:40 PM  |  Headlines

After less than three weeks of deliberations, a House of Representatives working committee concluded Sunday a revision of the Supreme Court law that will allow justices to serve until they are 70-years-old.

The legislators dismissed widespread criticism that bribery was behind the unusually fast deliberation process.

"After a tough negotiation, the working committee has agreed to extend the retirement age for a justice from 65 to 70 years old," committee member Nasir Jamil of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said.

The country's second-largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), rejected the committee's decision on the age extension and demanded that its objection be noted in the committee's final decision.

The current law stipulates that Supreme Court justices must retire at 65-years-old, with a possible extension of two years.

If the bill comes into effect soon, chief justice Bagir Manan, who under the existing law must retire on Oct. 6, will be allowed to serve for a further three years.

While pledging to respect the committee's decision, the PDI-P rejected the extension of Bagir's term, saying it would compromise a plan to restructure the Supreme Court.

"The retirement age of a justice may be extended to 70-years-old, but Bagir must retire on Oct. 6," secretary of the PDI's faction at the House, Ganjar Pranowo, said.

Bagir has served for six years. He sparked controversy when he issued a decree that extended his and nine other justices' retirement age by two years in June 2006, citing a backlog of cases.

The speed with which the most recent bill has been passed has raised eyebrows among critics. It has taken the committee less than three weeks to complete deliberations, where traditionally such an amendment is the subject of several months' discussions.

Anti-graft watchdog the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has warned bribery may be behind the unusual haste.

PDI-P legislator Gayus Lumbuun quit the committee amid the growing suspicion, but later said he had withdrawn over a conflict of interests.

The ICW has said the extension of the retirement age is politically motivated ahead of the election.

"Cases of campaign fund violations, for instance, will be handled by the Supreme Court. We think political parties need to strengthen their bargaining vis a vis the justices," Emerson Yuntho of ICW said.

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