Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – A coalition of civil society groups is seeking help from the Constitutional Court to put pressure on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the House of Representatives to speed up the enactment of a Corruption Court bill.

The coalition, which includes Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Partnership for Governance Reform, made the request during a meeting on Friday with Constitutional Court chief Jimly Asshiddiqie. The NGOs urged the court to pressure the government and the House to finish drafting the bill immediately.

"We ask the Constitutional Court to take action to urge the government and the House to speed up the formulation of the bill because we see no certainty in this process," ICW coordinator Teten Masduki said.

According to the coalition, the Constitutional Court is responsible for pressing for the completion of the bill because of its decision to revoke an article on the Corruption Court in the 2002 law that established the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The Constitutional Court ruled on Dec. 19, 2006, that regulation of the Corruption Court should be covered in a separate law, and allowed the government and the House three years to enact such a law.

"It is feared if the government and the House fail to meet the deadline, a Corruption Court will not be established. This could be dreadful because all corruption cases would then be processed in ordinary courts," Teten said.

"We believe the Corruption Court is still reliable because it has never dropped any corruption cases submitted by the KPK. We demand the President immediately submit the bill to the House so its deliberation can be completed this year."

He said the Constitutional Court had promised to take further action on the matter.

Jimly said he expected the bill would be finalized before the end of this year, considering the government and the House might not have enough time to process the bill next year because of the general elections. "But we should not be worried because there's still enough time to get the bill finished," he said.

In response to the coalition's request, Jimly said he would send Yudhoyono the copy of a letter sent by the coalition to the Constitutional Court, along with the court's response.

"People should also not worry that the establishment of the Corruption Court will be cancelled, because I believe the President is aware people want the court to exist," he added.