Dr. Eddy Pramoto Reviewed the Implementation of Act No. 24 of 2000 on International Agreements

The first session of the seminar was held at 10:00 am in Building D 502, UPH, which was moderated by Dr. Henry Soelistyo Budi, SH, LLM, Lecturer of UPH. The first session will discuss the review of the implementation of Act No. 24 of 2000 on International Treaties.

Ambassador Dr. Eddy Pramoto conveyed the material from the critical analysis perspective on Article 11 of the 1945 Constitution Act and issues related to international agreements. He emphasized that Indonesia has yet to establish political and legal system that expressly regulates international treaties. Thus, in practice, it has raised three main issues, namely the lack of solidity in understanding and definition of international treaties in national law, the unclear legal status of international treaties in domestic law, and the ambiguous concept of ratification / approval in the sense of international law.

Indonesian society, even the Parliament, still do not have a solid understanding of the definition of International Agreements, especially the differences between International Agreements and civil contracts. He stressed the four principles that needed to be held right in understanding the international treaty; they are (1) the subjects of international law (interstate, state and international organizations, or between international organizations), (2) writing, (3) governed by international law, and (4) give rise to rights and obligations.

At the end of his explanation, Dr. Eddy Pramoto also advised the need for improvement of Article 1 on Act No. 24 of 2000 and article 11 on the 1945 Constitution to confirm the theory of combinations and establish international treaties that have been ratified into national law. Also, the government has to continue to monitor and actively participate in the process of drafting and ratificating international treaties.

Prof. Bintan R. Saragih had the opportunity to present his materials in a historical way in which he described the procurement and implementation of the Presidential Letter since the guided democracy period, the new order and the reform period. At the time of the authoritative Guided Democracy era and the New Order which tend to be oligarchic and plutocratic, the implementation of the Presidential Letter was exploited for the interest and power of its leaders.

With the end of the New Order regime, the 1999 elections established TAP MPR which provides strong and clear direction regarding the foundation of Indonesia’s foreign policy. Therein, it described the embodiment of a sovereign, dignified, free and pro-active foreign policy. But he lamented the fact that the Act No. 24 of 2000 does not mention anything regarding TAP MPR No. IV / MPR / 1999 as a directive to prepare considerations, articles and general explanations. Act No. 24 of 2000 is currently based only on two things: article 11 on the 1945 Constitution Act which is too concise and Presidential Letter No. 2826 / HK / 1960 which is no longer relevant. In addition, he also emphasized the fact that the implementation of Act No. 24 of 2000 is dominated by the interests and demands from abroad. One form of the non-conformity of Act No. 24 of 2000 is from Act No. 7 of 2007 concerning international trade.

At the end of his presentation, Prof. Bintan expressed his hope for Indonesia to be a dignified country that is no longer dependent and influenced by foreign countries. By doing repairs to the law of international agreements which still possess many weaknesses and vagueness, it is expected that Indonesia could later become a country that is considered by the international community. (ca/cla)

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