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Chief Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat and Constitutional Justice Maria Farida Indrati attending the Congress of World Conference of Constitutional Justice (WCCJ) in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday (12/9). Photo by Humas MK/Noel.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI) was selected to represent Asia in the working committee of the World Conference of Constitutional Justice (WCCJ) or WCCJ Bureau of 2017-2020. The selection of MKRI in the general assembly in the preparation of the 4th WCCJ in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday (12/9/2017). MKRI was selected unanimously by 111 WCCJ members. The MKRI delegation, led by Chief Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat, expressed their gratitude for the honor.

In the WCCJ Bureau, the Constitutional Court of Italy represents the Europe, the Constitutional Court of represents the Americas, the Constitutional Court of Djibouti represents the Africa. Indonesia’s participation in the bureau is expected to further promote the enforcement of law, democracy, and human rights.

Role of MKRI

The MKRI delegation also played a role in the 4th congress, by having some of its proposals be made a joint agreement by all 111 WCCJ state members. The WCCJ Bureau also agreed on the MKRI’s support on the Constitutional Court of Algeria hosting the 5th Congress of WCCJ in 2020.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia explicitly expressed its reaction to the exclusion of the Constitutional Court of Russia, stating it should not happen again in the future. The sentiment was shared by the WCCJ Bureau and the Venice Commission. The exclusion of the Constitutional Court of Russia is a violation to the WCCJ’s statute, in which the host country must guarantee that all members be able to attend the congress.

The Constitutional Court of Indonesia also proposed a sentence to be included in the joint communiqué , the Vilnius Communiqué: “The World Conference deplores any unconstitutional attempt to abolish the rule of law in any country”. The Constitutional Court of Indonesia observed that some constitutional courts in other parts of the world receive pressures from parties that are disadvantaged by the enforcement of law in the country. The proposal received a positive from all members and was included in the communiqué.

The WCCJ Congress will take place until September 14, 2017. Constitutional Justice Maria Farida Indrati will deliver a concluding paper on “The Law and The Individual” in the fourth session. (NL/lul/Yuniar Widiastuti)

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