Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court rejected Wednesday a lawsuit filed by an alliance of NGOs against the House of Representatives over the draft pornography bill, stating the matter pertained to constitutional law, not civil law.

"The District Court has no authority to examine and put this case on trial due to the fact that the House has worked according to its legislative role in initiating the bill," presiding Judge Aman Barus said at the hearing for a provisional decision on the case.

He said the House is not a legal entity regulated by civil law. "In this country, there is no law that regulates whether the House can be sued in a civil case by the District Court for performing its legislative functions as a (lawmaking body)," Aman said.

The Alliance of Unity in Diversity, which filed the lawsuit last December, said the draft bill endangers the multireligious, multicultural character of Indonesia. The House later filed its objection on March 12.

"We are also concerned that a lawsuit against the House will make lawmakers uncertain when initiating and deciding on new bills, which then can lead to disruptions in the country's law reforms," Aman said.

Commenting on the decision, the alliance's coordinator, Ratna Sarumpaet, said, "It seems that the court ruling is a way for the judicial authority to avoid any disagreements with the House.

"It is a pity that the people at the House are regarded as... gods, while we know that rampant money politics and corrupt practices result in many incompetent people sitting at the House," she said, adding that the alliance would file an appeal.

"I hope that the House acknowledges the public's restlessness over the bill by not being too hasty in endorsing it," she said. "However, if lawmakers keep forcing the bill's enactment, we still have the Constitutional Court (to go to for our appeal)."

Ratna said the public was disappointed with many of the laws passed by the House, some of which have caused considerable financial losses to the country. She cited the newly-passed investment law endorsed in March.

The alliance said the special committee deliberating the pornography bill had issued two versions of the draft, one having 93 chapters and the other 36 chapters. An explanation has not been given to explain the variations in length.

"The public process is not working here because we do not have any clue as to which draft should be monitored," Ratna said. The alliance – consisting of women activists, artists and scholars – said lawmakers involved in drafting the controversial bill had failed to consider input from civil society.

The bill, initiated by the House in February last year, was previously named the anti-pornography bill, but was later changed into the pornography bill.

The bill has received strong support from some, notably hard-line, Muslim groups that openly seek the adoption of sharia law. It has been opposed by pro-democracy, women's and human rights groups. The controversy surrounding the bill moved lawmakers to delay its deliberation.

Ratna claimed that Bali, Papua, North Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara provinces, where Muslims are the minority, had threatened to break away from Indonesia if the House pushed the bill through.