Jakarta – The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) called on the government Thursday to immediately take measures to implement the Constitutional Court's ruling, which rescinds the Attorney General Office's authority to ban books.

The Court ruled Wednesday that the 1963 Print Matters Law, which has become the AGO's reference for banning books, was illegal because it went against the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression. It also ruled that book banning should be decided by a due process of law and not by the AGO's sole assessment.

"The government should make sure that law enforcers no longer use the 1963 law as a reason to restrict citizens' right to freedom of expression," policy research institute interim director Indriaswati Dyah Saptaningrum said. "The AGO should take the initiative to reinterpret its authority in control of books as the Constitutional Court ruled."

The institute also called on the House of Representatives to amend the 2004 Attorney Law and specify the prosecutor's authority in the area of books.