Description
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Constitution of Indonesia: A Contextual Analysis by Simon Butt prof Tim Lindsey
For decades Indonesias 1945 Constitution the second-shortest in the world was used as an apologia by successive authoritarian regimes. A bare-bones text originally intended as a temporary measure it did little beyond establish basic state organs including a powerful presidency. It did not offer citizens real guarantees or protections. These weaknesses were ruthlessly exploited by the military-backed regime of President Soeharto which fell in 1998. The amendment of the Constitution that began the following year and which was completed in 2002 changed all this. Enlarging and rethinking the Constitution it ushered in a liberal democratic system based around human rights an open society and separation of powers. These reforms also created a Constitutional Court - Indonesias first judicial forum for debating the interpretation and application of the Constitution as well as its first significant and easily-accessible body of reasoned judgments. Today Indonesian constitutional law is rich sophisticated and complex. This book surveys this remarkable constitutional transition assessing the implementation of Indonesias new constitutional model and identifying its weaknesses. After covering key institutions exercising executive legislative and judicial powers the book focuses on key current constitutional debates ranging from human rights to decentralisation religious freedom and control of the economy.