Jakarta – In an attempt to recoup the power stripped from it by the Constitutional Court, the Judicial Commission is seeking support from political factions at the House of Representatives.

On Thursday, members of the Judicial Commission met with leaders of the National Awakening Party and the National Mandate Party. Meetings with other political factions are planned.

The commission members presented a draft bill to amend the 2004 Judicial Commission Law so as to restore the commission's oversight of judges of all ranks.

Commission member Thahir Saimima said he hoped the amendment would create a balance of power among the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court and the Judicial Commission. "We want the amendment to carry provisions that each institution has an equal position and each can monitor the others," he said.

Saimima said since its authority was severely reduced by the Constitutional Court, the commission could do nothing about the mountain of complaints it has continued to receive. "We want the Judicial Commission to have the power to act and not just make recommendations," he said.

In the proposed amendment, drafted by a small team formed in the wake of the controversial verdict, the commission also seeks the authority to draw up a code of conduct for judges. In addition, the draft specifies that the Supreme Court is entitled to handle the technical aspects of the judiciary.

The recent Constitutional Court verdict stripped the Judicial Commission of its oversight powers over the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court due to vagueness in the 2004 law that established the body. The ruling found the law unconstitutional because it made no distinction between the "justices" of the Supreme Court and the "judges" of other courts.

In response to the ruling, the House said it would propose an amendment to the Judicial Commission Law and promised to come up with a clear-cut division of powers between the Judicial Commission and the Supreme Court to avoid further conflicts between the two institutions.

Members of the House legislation body have pledged to add amending the law to their list of priorities for 2006.

Responding to the Judicial Commission's proposal, leaders of the PKB expressed their commitment to expediting the amendment.

"We want to delineate the authorities and procedures for oversight. There won't just be recommendations, but punishments and rewards entailed" for offenses identified by the Judicial Commission, Nursjahbani Katjasungkana of the PKB faction said.