Islam, the State and the Constitutional Court in Indonesia

Indonesia is home to more Muslims than any other country. Yet it is not an Islamic state and is unlikely to become one, despite the strong and sustained urgings of some Muslim groups. Indonesian Islam is, like Indonesian society itself, dynamic and diverse, accommodating a wide variety of practices and beliefs. One area of contention between conservative Muslims on the one hand, and the state (supported by many more moderate Muslims) on the other, is the extent to which Islamic law should be recognised, applied and enforced by institutions of state. The Indonesian government\u27s response has generally been to limit formal recognition of Islamic law to specified areas of family law and finance, codifying the relevant principles and enforcing them through Islamic courts. This article considers whether the constitutional freedom of religion, introduced in 2000, requires the state to provide mechanisms to apply and enforce the corpus of Islamic law. In particular, it discusses two cases in which Muslims asked the Indonesian Constitutional Court to consider whether freedom of religion required the state to remove restrictions on polygamy, and to allow Indonesia\u27s Religious Courts to apply Islamic law in its entirety, including criminal law

Indonesia’s KPK and NSW’s ICAC: comparisons and contrasts

Indonesia’s KPK and NSW’s ICAC: comparisons and contrast

Resolution of Key Roles for the Distal Pocket Histidine in Cytochrome c Nitrite Reductases

Cytochrome c nitrite reductases perform a key step in the biogeochemical N-cycle by catalyzing the six-electron reduction of nitrite to ammonium. These multi-heme cytochromes contain a number of His/His ligated c-hemes for electron transfer and a structurally differentiated heme that provides the catalytic center. The catalytic heme has proximal ligation from lysine, or histidine, and an exchangeable distal ligand bound within a pocket that includes a conserved histidine. Here we describe properties of a penta-heme cytochrome c nitrite reductase in which the distal His has been substituted by Asn. The variant is unable to catalyze nitrite reduction despite retaining the ability to reduce a proposed intermediate in that process, namely, hydroxylamine. A combination of electrochemical, structural and spectroscopic studies reveals that the variant enzyme simultaneously binds nitrite and electrons at the catalytic heme. As a consequence the distal His is proposed to play a key role in orienting the nitrite for N-O bond cleavage. The electrochemical experiments also reveal that the distal His facilitates rapid nitrite binding to the catalytic heme of the native enzyme. Finally it is noted that the thermodynamic descriptions of nitrite- and electron-binding to the active site of the variant enzyme are modulated by the prevailing oxidation states of the His/His ligated hemes. This is behavior that is likely to be displayed by other multi-centered redox enzymes such that there are wide implications for considering the determinants of catalytic activity in this important and varied group of oxidoreductases

Indonesia's Anti-corruption Courts and the Persistence of Judicial Culture

Indonesia has long been notorious for having very high levels of public sector corruption. Two key institutions were established after Soeharto: the Anti-corruption Courts (ACCs) and the Anti-corruption Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi or KPK). This chapter discusses the background to the establishment of the ACCs, the statutory powers they have been granted, their functions and workings and their place within the broader judicial system. The KPK investigates and prosecutes many of the cases the ACCs decide. As this chapter demonstrates, the legal and institutional framework within which the ACC initially operated in 2003 have since undergone significant change – most notably, the establishment of thirty-three new ACCs, so that all Indonesian provincial capitals now have one. This has brought real challenges to the way that the ACCs function that have significant potential to undermine their future efficacy. I conclude by discussing how these courts have been shaped, and themselves shape, judicial culture in Indonesia

The Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Reforms under Yudhoyono: The Rise of the KPK and the Constitutional Court

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono came to office at a pivotal time for rule-of-law and anti-corruption reforms in Indonesia. The two institutions at the forefront of these reforms were already established by the time he was inaugurated on 20 October 2004, but they had not been operating long and were still finding their feet. The first, the Constitutional Court, was established just one year earlier, on 15 October 2003. The second, the Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi, KPK), had been working since mid-December 2003. The Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court (Pengadilan Tindak Pidana Korupsi, Tipikor Court), which tried all of the KPK's defendants, handed down its first decision in March 2005, well after Yudhoyono took office

Aceh and Islamic Criminal Law in the Courts

In 2014, the Aceh provincial government enacted a Qanun Jinayat or Islamic Criminal Code. The Qanun came into force on 22 October 2015, one year later. The positions of Islam in the state and of Islamic law in the legal system have long been highly vexed issues in Indonesia. Given that Muslims are said to comprise around 85 to 90 per cent of Indonesia’s population, Muslim groups have long pushed for an Islamic state or for some type of formal recognition of Islam. The 2006 Aceh Special Autonomy Law authorises the Aceh government to ‘implement’ Islamic law in Aceh, expressly mentioning criminal law as being encompassed. The Qanun prohibits drinking, producing, selling or carrying alcohol, and giving it as a gift, although use of alcohol for medical purposes as prescribed by a doctor is permitted. The Qanun also appears to assert predominance over widely-recognised international human rights norms