KEDUDUKAN DEWAN PERWAKILAN DAERAH REPUBLIK INDONESIA DALAM SISTEM KELEMBAGAAN LEGISLATIF INDONESIA

Abstract

The Indonesia's transition to democracy process is the field ofconstitutional reform that goes through the amendment of the Constitution of1945. The amendment of the Constitution of 1945 is made by the character ofthe Constitution of 1945 that opened the door to multiple interpretations andauthoritarian government. The amendment of the Constitution of 1945 are alsoexpected to bring the atmosphere of checks and balances. The amendment ofthe 1945 Constitution has been restore the sovereignty in the hands of thepeople, who had been held by the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) asthe highest institution. The prominent amendment also is the President andVice President elected directly by the people. The membership of the People’sConsultative Assembly (MPR) also changed, in accordance with the provisionsof article 2, verse (1) “the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) composedmembers of the legislative body (DPR) and of the members of regional councils(DPD) are elected in general elections and is set in the statute”. As a newinstitution, the regional councils (DPD) is a manifestation of the regionalrepresentatives at the central level in order to accommodate the aspirations ofthe people and some regions in Indonesia. The presence of the regionalcouncils (DPD) are set out in Article 22C and Article 22D of the amendment ofthe Constitution of 1945, but the Council has the sole function, especially whenassociated with a system of two rooms or a bicameral parliamentary system inIndonesia. Because, if you look at the Assembly building after the amendmentof the Constitution of 1945, which states that the MPR consists of thelegislative body (DPR) and the regional councils (DPD), then theparliamentary system in Indonesia demonstrates the use of the system twochambers (bicameral). However, because of limited function held of theregional councils (DPD), the regional councils (DPD) can not functionoptimally as a second chamber.