Constitutional Justice I Dewa Gede Palguna takes off his court robe and wears army-patterned parka at the Pancasila and Constitution Center (Pusat Pendidikan Pancasila dan Konstitusi), Cisarua Bogor. Palguna’s presence at the Center is for delivering technical guidance for regional candidate pair campaign teams that will compete in 2015 Unison Regional Elections.

In the course of technical guidance, Palguna delivers lecture entitled “The Role of the Constitutional Court in Indonesian Constitutional System” (“Mahkamah Konstitusi dalam Sistem Ketatanegaraan RI”). He says that the main trait of constitutional democratic state is constitution supremacy, which means entire practice of state governance shall in line with the Constitution.

The task of the Constitutional Court is to conduct check and balances mechanism. “The Court maintains democracy processes between state government branches in order to run in balance. There is no dominant state government branch which overlapped other branches’ authority,” said him on Monday (2/11).   

In addition, the Constitutional Court has other main task which is protecting citizen’s constitutional rights from authority abuse. “Constitutional courts throughout the world always have both main tasks,” said him.

Head of the Pancasila and Constitution Center (Kepala Pusat Pendidikan Pancasila dan Konstitusi) Noor Sidharta delivers opening speech of the guidance. After opening the guidance, he says that the guidance aims to ease regional election candidate pairs in drafting dispute lawsuit and Related Party’s testimony,”

“In providing guidance, we have two targets; the first is the Election Commission throughout Indonesia and the second is regional candidate pair campaign teams. The goal is they understand procedural law in order to prevent careless dispute lawsuit and testimony. Thus, the guidance is beneficial to both the participants and the Constitutional Court,” said him.

Third term of Technical Guidance for Candidate Pair Campaign Teams (Bimtek untuk Tim Pemenangan/Tim Hukum Pasangan Calon Kepala Daerah Se-Indonesia Angkatan III) is held on November 2-4, 2015 and attended by 127 participants. The Indonesian Advocates Association (Perhimpunan Advokat Indonesia –Peradi) and the Forum of Constitutional Advocates (Forum Pengacara Konstitusi) also attend the guidance.

Main Functional Director of the Corruption Eradication Commission (Direktur Fungsional Utama Komisi Pemberantasan Tindak Pidana Korupsi) Asep R. Suwandha delivers lecture entitled “Self Integrity and Organization Integrity for Gratuity and Corruption Prevention in Regional Election Dispute Settlement (“Integritas Diri dan Organisasi dalam Pencegahan Gratifikasi dan Tindak Pidana Korupsi pada Perselisihan Hasil Pemilihan Gubernur, Bupati, dan Walikota”). Moreover, constitutional law expert Andi Irmanputra Sidin delivers lecture entitled “The Constitutional Court in Regional Election Dispute Settlement”.

The Court’s Registrar Kasianur Sidauruk provides dispute settlement procedural law. Meanwhile, Junior Registrar Muhiddin delivers drafting techniques on dispute lawsuit and Related Party’s testimony.

Sidauruk says that the practice of lawsuit and Related Party’s answers aims to ease disputed parties in drafting lawsuit and Related Party’s answers, as well as ease the Court in settling regional election disputes. “The practice of lawsuit and Related Party’s answers aims to ease disputed parties. Thus, the disputed parties will be able to draft lawsuit or testimony as Related Party and appropriately in accordance with Constitutional Court Regulation,” said Sidauruk.

The guidance closed by the Head Noor Sidharta. “We are very grateful to ladies and gentlemen who attend the guidance. We are honored to serve ladies and gentlemen during the guidance,” said him.

He also says that the Court is preparing ahead regional election dispute settlement. The Court has commitment in conducting regional election dispute settlement. “We, along with the Election Commission and Applicants, are ready with dispute settlement,” said him

One of the participants Edy Syams appreciates the guidance. According to him, the guidance has provided benefits, particularly to parties who may be disputed parties in dispute settlement. “I would like to thank to the Constitutional Court who has facilitated us by giving useful guidance for campaign teams,” said him who is one of the members of Zumi Zola-Fakhrori Umar candidate pair campaign team. (Lulu Hanifah/IR/Prasetyo Adi N)