New Regional Judges’ Group Vows to Promote Democracy

Jakarta Globe, July 12, 2010, Camelia Pasandaran

Chairman of Asian Constitutional courts from left-right; Dong-Heub Lee (Korea), Tun Zaki Tun Azmi (Malaysia), Jamsran Byambadorj (Mongolia), Mahfud MD (Indonesia), Mariano C Del Castillo (Philippines), Chut Chonlavorn (Thailand), Bakhtiyar Mirbabaev (Uzbekistan) after signing of declaration on the establishment of the association of asian constitutional court and equivalent institution in Constitution Court, Jakarta, on Monday. (JG Photo/Safir Makki)

A regional meeting of constitutional court justices in Jakarta has signed a declaration to establish an Association of Asian Constitutional Courts.

The 7th Conference of Asian Constitutional Court Judges, which runs until Thursday and focuses on election laws, adopted the Jakarta Declaration at its meeting on Monday.

Indonesian Constitutional Court Justice Harjono said there was a shared recognition of the need to enhance cooperation between Asian constitutional institutions to promote the rule of law, democracy and human rights.

“[We] reaffirm our common understanding to build a partnership through sharing information and best practices on constitutional cases for the progress of democracy and the promotion of human rights in Asia on the basis of mutual respect and judicial independence,” Harjono said when reading out the declaration.

The declaration was signed by constitutional court justices from Indonesia, the Philippines, Mongolia, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Uzbekistan, which make up the founding members of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts.

The head of the Malaysian delegation is Zaki Azmi, the chief justice of the country’s Federal Court, while the Philippine representative is Supreme Court Justice Mariano Del Castillo.

Harjono said the association would be an independent and nonpolitical forum.

Its first congress will be held in 2012 in South Korea, which has been appointed to chair the association and its secretariat.

“Next year, we’ll appoint a board, and in 2012, maybe in the spring or summer, we’ll hold the inaugural congress,” Lee Dong-heub, a judge on the Constitutional Court of Korea, said after the signing of the declaration.

The Jakarta conference continues today at the State Palace when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono officially opens the sessions to discuss election laws.

It will explore issues such as the merits of different electoral systems, problems and shortcomings in election laws, and dealing with election complaints.

Lee pointed out that in South Korea, the Constitutional Court was not authorized to handle election disputes.

“We don’t have the jurisdiction for that,” he said.

“The High Court and Supreme Court have jurisdiction over election disputes.”

He said he hoped to learn more from the conference about Indonesia’s experience in dealing with election laws.

Indonesian Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud MD said that since its establishment in 2003, his court had been held up as a benchmark in the region for its handling of various election laws and disputes.

“All things considered, elections in Indonesia have actually proceeded quite well during this period,” he said.

“Of the 36 election disputes that we’ve heard at the court, only six were found to have involved subjectivity on the part of polling officials or structured and massive irregularities during voting.

“That’s a small percentage. Most of the cases brought to our attention are essentially baseless and only proceed that far because of the hype and publicity surrounding them,” Mahfud added.

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