Secretary General of the Constitutional Court M. Guntur Hamzah delivered a presentation to civil servant candidates at the superintendent (III) rank, Thursday (18/1) at the Defense Functional Technical Training and Education Center of the Education and Training Agency of the Ministry of Defense, Jakarta. Photo by Humas MK/Ganie.

The Constitutional Court (MK) held education and training for 49 civil servant candidates at the Superintendent (III) Rank, Thursday (18/1). The activities will be held for a month at the Defense Functional Technical Training and Education Center of the Education and Training Agency of the Ministry of Defense, Salemba.

On the first day of the training, Secretary General of the Constitutional Court M. Guntur Hamzah advised the participants to follow the training seriously and thoroughly. "Everything must be properly understood; its philosophical nature must be understood. This moment should be for seeking knowledge in depth," he explained.

Guntur asserted that judicial institutions such as the Constitutional Court are full of rules and signs. This forces the participants to adapt to maintaining post-work attitudes and behaviors. "It\'s about being nice and maintaining each other’s integrity. That is being a professional, dedicated civil servant," he further added.

Guntur also explained about the Constitutional Court in the context of state administration. He alluded to the history of state administration in England. At that time, there was a famous adage that the king was never wrong. This, he continued, stems from the notion that the king is the representative of God in the world. In addition, the king of England also holds executive, legislative, and judicial powers. This led to the rule or law being an absolute possession of the king, and no one can correct the rules that had been made. It is this situation that led British lawyer Sir Edward Cook to think that there was a mechanism to correct the products of the law. This is the forerunner of a judicial review process for a law. "However, the discourse of the Constitutional Court or institutions that can conduct judicial review until now has never materialized in the UK. Until now the UK does not have such an institution," he said.

Over time, the first Constitutional Court in the world was actually established in Austria in 1920. One in Czechoslovakia was established first, but the majority opinion considers Austria to be first. The reason, Guntur continued, is that the Czechoslovakian one was not active institutionally because the communist reigned in the country.

Guntur explained that the discourse of institutions similar to the Constitutional Court had existed in Indonesia during the early days of independence. The idea was proposed by Muhammad Yamin by​​the establishment of the Great Hall in charge of correcting and canceling a law. "The idea was finally rejected by Soepomo because Indonesia didn’t have many law qualified scholars at that time," he explained.

After the reform era, Guntur said, finally the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia was formed through the third amendment of the 1945 Constitution. He explained that the Court has nine judges elected by the Supreme Court (MA), President, and House of Representatives (DPR). "Each institution has the right to elect and propose three judges," he said.

The Constitutional Court, said Guntur, has four authorities and one duty based on the 1945 Constitution. The Constitutional Court has the authority to review the law against the 1945 Constitution, to decide on disputes over the authority of state institutions whose authority is granted by the 1945 Constitution, to decide upon the dissolution of political parties, and to decide upon disputes over election results. The duty of the Constitutional Court is to make decisions related to alleged violations committed by the president and/or vice president. (ARS/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)