It's always been a bit of a mystery why Indonesia's parliament agreed to create a constitutional court during reformasi. One researcher concluded that most legislators simply hadn't realized what was actually in the reform packages they'd voted on. Whatever the motivation at the time, now it appears the parliament is going back and considering revising the court. According to The Jakarta Post, legislators are looking at judges' pensions, tenure, and appointment mechanisms - in other words, some of the foundations of judicial independence.
In other news, Indonesian police are investigating allegations that a Democrat Party official falsified an order from the Constitutional Court in an elections case. The police have been investigating it for a year, but have taken no action. Meanwhile, the official involved is now the Democrat Party's spokesman. Sadly, that's Indonesia - corruption making a mockery of the justice system.
Critics agree that much of Southeast Asia desperately needs judicial reform and rule of law. Yet, there is remarkably little comparative scholarship on law and legal institutions in the region. In this blog, I'll follow constitutional developments in Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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