Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 10/07/2008 10:00 AM | National
The House of Representatives voted not to pass a controversial bill stipulating an extended mandatory retirement age for the chief justice of the Supreme Court, meaning incumbent Bagir Manan, who turns 67 today, must step down.
Supreme Court spokesman Djoko Sarwoko said Bagir would remain incumbent and continue to work on Court projects until he had received an official letter demanding his retirement, which is expected to be issued on Nov. 1.
Djoko said Bagir's successor would be elected in a vote during a plenary session of Supreme Court justices. Each justice has the right to nominate one justice, including themselves.
"But I have no idea when the plenary meeting will be held. As far as I know, it has not even been planned or scheduled yet," Djoko said.
The government-sponsored bill failed at the legislative stage, largely because of a controversial article extending the mandatory retirement age of a Court chief justice from 65 to 70.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) had said that if passed the bill would allow Bagir, who was voted in as chief in 2001, to remain incumbent.
The PDI-P faction asked Bagir on Monday to step down from his position immediately.
"The bill has not been passed yet and Bagir is already 67 as of today. He has to relinquish his post because our law doesn't recognize retroactivity," said PDI-P legislator Eva Sundari of the House's Commission III overseeing legal affairs.
"He (Bagir) can no longer legally hold his position. There is no need to wait for the President to issue a retirement letter. The existing law stipulates that age, not the President, determines when a chief justice must retire."
Fellow PDI-P legislator Sutradara Gintings said he was concerned the Court would be slow in electing Bagir's successor.
"It (the election) is supposed to be today. If the justices themselves violate the law, then how will law be enforced?" Sutradara said.
In 2006, Bagir issued a decree extending his retirement age by two years, he said.
"Then we (the PDI-P) thought he could improve the judiciary system in the country, so we okayed the extension. But it turned out there was no improvement at all."
The House said Monday it had indefinitely postponed a plenary meeting to pass the bill.
"Commission III told me in a letter this morning that the plenary meeting has been called off because it failed to report the deliberation process," House Speaker Agung Laksono said.
Agung said the commission needed more time "to synchronize" several major issues, citing that the House would work to coordinate ongoing discussions on regulations on the Supreme Court, the Judicial Commission and the Constitutional Court.
The unusual haste with which the Supreme Court bill was brought to the House raised suspicions that bribery had been involved. PDI-P legislator Gayus Lumbuun walked out of the deliberation process after graft allegations had been leveled against him.
The House of Representatives voted not to pass a controversial bill stipulating an extended mandatory retirement age for the chief justice of the Supreme Court, meaning incumbent Bagir Manan, who turns 67 today, must step down.
Supreme Court spokesman Djoko Sarwoko said Bagir would remain incumbent and continue to work on Court projects until he had received an official letter demanding his retirement, which is expected to be issued on Nov. 1.
Djoko said Bagir's successor would be elected in a vote during a plenary session of Supreme Court justices. Each justice has the right to nominate one justice, including themselves.
"But I have no idea when the plenary meeting will be held. As far as I know, it has not even been planned or scheduled yet," Djoko said.
The government-sponsored bill failed at the legislative stage, largely because of a controversial article extending the mandatory retirement age of a Court chief justice from 65 to 70.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) had said that if passed the bill would allow Bagir, who was voted in as chief in 2001, to remain incumbent.
The PDI-P faction asked Bagir on Monday to step down from his position immediately.
"The bill has not been passed yet and Bagir is already 67 as of today. He has to relinquish his post because our law doesn't recognize retroactivity," said PDI-P legislator Eva Sundari of the House's Commission III overseeing legal affairs.
"He (Bagir) can no longer legally hold his position. There is no need to wait for the President to issue a retirement letter. The existing law stipulates that age, not the President, determines when a chief justice must retire."
Fellow PDI-P legislator Sutradara Gintings said he was concerned the Court would be slow in electing Bagir's successor.
"It (the election) is supposed to be today. If the justices themselves violate the law, then how will law be enforced?" Sutradara said.
In 2006, Bagir issued a decree extending his retirement age by two years, he said.
"Then we (the PDI-P) thought he could improve the judiciary system in the country, so we okayed the extension. But it turned out there was no improvement at all."
The House said Monday it had indefinitely postponed a plenary meeting to pass the bill.
"Commission III told me in a letter this morning that the plenary meeting has been called off because it failed to report the deliberation process," House Speaker Agung Laksono said.
Agung said the commission needed more time "to synchronize" several major issues, citing that the House would work to coordinate ongoing discussions on regulations on the Supreme Court, the Judicial Commission and the Constitutional Court.
The unusual haste with which the Supreme Court bill was brought to the House raised suspicions that bribery had been involved. PDI-P legislator Gayus Lumbuun walked out of the deliberation process after graft allegations had been leveled against him.