Execution of traffickers 'not against constitution'

Indonesia's Constitutional Court ruled yesterday that executing drug smugglers did not breach the constitution, rejecting a bid by three Australians and two Indonesians who are on death row to challenge the law.

Lawyers for the three Australians - members of the so-called Bali Nine, who were caught trying to smuggle heroin out of the resort island of Bali - and for the two Indonesian drug offenders argued that the death penalty was unconstitutional because the constitution guarantees the right to life.

The three Australians can still appeal against their death sentences.