After delivering a brief lecture, Constitutional Justice, Harjono poses for photo session with the Master Students of Law from Universitas Bandar Lampung (UBL), Monday (18/10).
Jakarta, MKOnline – The Master Students of Law from Universitas Bandar Lampung (UBL) visited the Constitutional Court building on Monday (18/10) morning. They were welcomed by Constitutional Justice, Harjono in the Press Conference Room at the 4th floor of the Constitutional Court Building.
The purpose of the visit, according to one of the group participants, was to broaden the students’ academic perspective and legal expertise, particularly those studying in the Law Master program in UBL.
At the meeting, the participants in the visit received a brief lecture from Harjono. In his exposition, Harjono explained about the history of amendment to the 1945 Constitution and the emergence of the Constitutional Court as one of the holders of judicial authority in Indonesia.
“At that time, Article 1 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution was no longer suitable. We finally made an amendment to our constitution. Sovereignty is exercised pursuant to the Constitution. The consequence is that sovereignty must be recognized, however it could not be implemented as one wishes. There must be procedures and limits in the constitution,” Harjono said.
Therefore, what kind of democracy existing in Indonesia nowadays? Asked Harjono while continuing his explanation. According to him, democracy in Indonesia has two phases, first, through direct democracy, and secondly, representative democracy. “Direct democracy is established when votes are casted through the General Elections, while representative democracy is actualized through our choices (the People’s Legislative Assembly and the President-red) which interact in a forum to discuss the future legal politics, in Laws,” he explained.
Furthermore, Harjono explained that the entire legal (rules) must include a system of enforcement, otherwise the rules would only consist of appeals. “The enforcement must also be in the form of legal enforcement, not only political enforcement,” he affirmed.
Therefore, in the event that there is an issue or inconsistency between Laws as political products of the legislators and the Constitution, it is necessary to establish a legal institution to hear it. ”This is the role of the Constitutional Court, as constitutional judiciary,” he said.
“The Constitutional Court is not trying the People’s Legislative Assembly or the President, but their products, namely, the Laws ‘produced’ by the two bodies. The Court is trying the law binding upon the public,” Harjono reminded. (Dodi/mh).
Monday, October 18, 2010 | 16:49 WIB 337