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PDI-P to lobby other parties against controversial Constitutional Court bill
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The general view of the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta is seen on on April 22, 2024, ahead of a 2024 presidential election result dispute hearing. (Antara/Fakhri Hermansyah)
T
he Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the biggest party in the House of Representatives, will lobby other parties against the widely criticized revision to the law governing the Constitutional Court.
The moves follow instructions last week from PDI-P matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri to reject a plan by the House to revise the 2003 Constitutional Law. During the party’s national meeting last week, Megawati questioned the lack of transparency in the process to revise the Constitutional Court Law at House Commission III overseeing legal affairs.
The revision to the Constitutional Court Law has been criticized by civil groups for proposing to have justices be evaluated after five years in the position and approved by their appointing institutions to retain their posts for another five years or until they reach the statutory retirement age of 70. They fear it will allow the three appointing institutions and particularly the House to unduly influence the judiciary.
PDI-P lawmaker Djarot Saiful Hidayat told reporters on Tuesday that the PDI-P has been reaching out to other parties and cannot fight alone to cancel the bills or remove some problematic provisions.
“We cannot [oppose] the law revision alone, so we communicate [with other factions] to remove [controversial] provisions," Djarot said.
The PDI-P was absent from an unannounced Commission III meeting on May 13, when lawmakers from eight other parties endorsed the bill behind closed doors despite being in recess at the time.
Following the endorsement, the bill will be brought to a House plenary meeting to be passed into law.
