Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo visiting the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) with Constitutional Court Registrar Kasianur Sidauruk, Tuesday (7/11) in Strasbroug, France. Photo by Humas MK/Nanang Subekti.

Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo visited the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbroug, France, Tuesday (7/11/2017). The Max Planck Foundation, Heidelberg, Germany, had previously invited the Constitutional Court of Indonesia to attend a hearing in the ECHR, which is open to the public.

In the hearing, the United Kingdom’s intelligence organization, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), was being sued. The plaintiffs claimed that the mass surveillance on the internet had violated the privacy of millions of British and European citizens. The plaintiffs were Big Brother Watch and Others, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Alice Ross, and 10 human rights organization. The complaints were filed on 4 September 2013, 11 September 2014, and 20 May 2015.

The plaintiffs requested that ECHR declare that mass surveillance in Europe by the British Government had violated the rights to privacy. According to the plaintiffs, the documents leaked by Edward Snowden show that GCHQ and the National Security Agency (NSA) had developed mass surveillance on the internet and cellular networks.

After attending the hearing, Justice Suhartoyo and Registrar Kasianur Sidauruk met with EHCR’s Deputy Jurist Council Anna Austin to find out the procedure for filing complaints, the division of workload of the panel of judges, case handling, and the process to prepare quality ruling of judges.

The official visit was part of the invitation from the Max Planck Foundation for the Constitutional Court to speak in the Recharging Program of the Indonesian Constitutional Court, collaboration between the Constitutional Court of Indonesia and the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law, Heidelberg, Germany. The collaboration was aimed at exchanging knowledge about various constitutional law issues. (NS/LA)

Translated by: Yuniar Widiastuti