Parade of flag of each university at the opening of the 2017 National Constitutional Debating Competition of University Students, Saturday (26/8). Photo by PR/Manto.

Secretary General of the Constitutional Court M. Guntur Hamzah opened 2017 National Constitutional Debating Competition of University Students on Saturday (26/8). A total of 24 universities from various regions in Indonesia participated in the tenth debating competition.

In the occasion, Guntur congratulated the participants who have passed the nationals. He also hoped that the participants could show the best of their abilities to win the title. "Congratulations to the participants who have successfully defeated other participants from western, central, and eastern regions. Hopefully what you have been prepared can be put forward well to convince the juries that you’re the best of the best participants," said Guntur.

Furthermore, Guntur said that the debating competition was one of a series of collaborative activities established between the Constitutional Court and a number of universities in Indonesia. Guntur hoped that the debating competition could encourage students, especially the participants, to always improve their abilities and achievements. It was not impossible, he continued, that the alumni of the debating competition would participate in the country’s legal field in the future.

"We hope the students who have passed this stage not only stop here. Alumni of previous constitution debating competitions have even become lawyers in the Constitutional Court. Thus, being alumni of the debating competition has made a significant impact and is manifested in the form of becoming legal counsels. I hope one day you can become experts in the Constitutional Court. In fact, I hope alumni of this competition can be constitutional justices someday," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of Pancasila and Constitution Education Center Budi Achmad Djohari explained the background of the Constitutional Court in holding [the first] student debating competition. According to him, the event was held to improve public access to justice. As one of the elements of society, students were expected to be able to play a role in improving the people’s understanding of citizens\' constitutional rights.

"The debating competition is held to improve students’ awareness of their constitutional rights and to improve the understanding and knowledge of the constitution in Indonesia. In addition, of course, it serves as a means of learning to make arguments with clear legal bases in polite and dignified ways. Participants learn to understand the opinions of others, not getting their own way, and not considering people of different opinions as enemies," said Budi.

The 2017 National Constitutional Debating Competition of University Students is carried out in 3 stages, namely the elimination stage, the regionals, and the nationals. A total of 128 universities throughout Indonesia followed the elimination stage by submitting papers. A total of 72 colleges passed, consisting of 24 universities each in the western, central, and eastern regions. The western regional constitutional debating competition was held at the Islamic University of Riau, Pekanbaru. The host of the central regional constitutional debating championship was UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta. Meanwhile, the east regional constitutional debating championship was held at the State University of Jember. A total of 24 universities passed to the nationals. The participants will be competing on Saturday (26/8) until Monday (28/8) to win the Rotating Trophy of Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court.

(Lulu Hanifah)