Draft Penal Code Requires Public Consultation

During September and October a number of NGOs and individuals (including JSMP, Sahe, Lao Hamutuk, Fokupers, Rede Feto, Liberta and ASF) requested the government for a copy of the draft Penal Code. However, the government has refused to make the draft publicly available.

The Penal Code is a very important law which will affect everyone in East Timor. It is imperative that civil society be able to contribute to the drafting of the Penal Code, by making comments on the draft Penal Code
before it becomes law. In most liberal democracies, the law making process is transparent, and the government engages in wide public consultation. A willingness to engage with civil society is a fundamental indicator of good governance. It is unclear why the Timor Leste government wishes to write and pass laws in secret.

These NGOs and individuals have also requested the Government to translate the draft Penal Code from Portuguese into a language most Timorese can read and understand - namely Tetum or Bahasa Indonesia. However, the government has also refused to translate the Penal Code, saying "that conditions do not
permit" for translation.

According to Article 13.1 of the RDTL Constitution "Tetum and Portuguese shall be the official languages of the RDTL". According to Article 159 "Indonesian and English shall be working languages within civil service side by side with official languages as long as deemed necessary." There is therefore a constitutional basis to translate the draft Penal Code into Tetum and/or Bahasa Indonesia.

If the Penal Code is not translated into a language which Timorese can understand, the government will be in violation of its international law obligations. Under Articles14.3 and 26 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights[1] (which East Timor ratified on 10 December 2002) the Timor Leste government must translate the Penal Code into a language which Timorese can understand. If the law is not translated into Tetum or Bahasa Indonesia it will also be extremely difficult for most police and court actors to enforce the law.

In the interests of transparency, good governance, access to justice and compliance with East Timor's human rights treaties obligations, we therefore urge the Government to:

In the next few weeks these NGOs and individuals plan to write to the Parliament and hold public dialogues, and a TV talk Show and radio talk show about the draft Penal Code.

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[1] Article 14.3
In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:

(a) to be informed promptly and in detail in a language which he
understands of the nature and cause of the charge against him;