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Class 1B Bogor District Court officers visiting the Constitutional Court on Friday (26/1). Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

Fourteen Class 1B Bogor District Court officers visited the Constitutional Court on Friday (26/1/2018). The delegation hoped to be able to share experiences and learn the use of information technology (IT) applied by the Court. They were welcomed by Head of the Center for Research, Case Review and ITC Management (P4TIK) Wiryanto and Head of the Research and Case Review Division Fajar Laksono.

Fajar said that the Court aspires to be a modern and trusted court. This implies transparent, fast, and effective access for those who want to file a petition at the Constitutional Court. "To realize this, the Court currently employs […] video conference. The aim is to make it easier for litigants to attend the Constitutional Court hearing," he explained.

The Constitutional Court, Fajar added, differs from the Supreme Court (MA), which has many courts in various cities, while the Constitutional Court is only located in Jakarta. This is where the challenge arises. This geographical barrier should not become a barrier for people to litigate at the Court. "This is the purpose of the Constitutional Court using video conference," he stressed.

Fajar said the Papuan regional election dispute cases used video conference to facilitate witnesses in giving testimonies. A case on religious blasphemy also employed video conference to present an expert overseas.

Until today, Fajar said, the Court has 42 video conference facilities spread across various cities in Indonesia. They are part of cooperation between the Constitutional Court and state universities (PTN).

"At the moment, the Constitutional Court wants to make innovations related to the use of video conference, not only court hearings, but also public lectures that are expected to be useful for the academics," he explained.

Meanwhile, Wiryanto said the Constitutional Court applied information communication and technology (ICT) system. That is, the Court uses IT optimally so as to minimize conventional proceedings.

Bogor District Court representative Rika stated that the procedural law in the Supreme Court was more stringent because litigants must be present in the courtroom. "The use of video conference and the like is not as flexible as in the Constitutional Court. At present, its use is only for criminal proceedings for witnesses of child victims, as well as material digital evidence," she explained.

Rika said the challenges of the times were inevitable and the Supreme Court realized this. Thus, the Supreme Court must be responsive to technological developments. At present, the Bogor District Court aspired for an IT-based Supreme Court. "We believe the Constitutional Court is the most reliable [institution] related to this. Therefore, we scheduled a visit to the Constitutional Court," she said.

Irwan from the Bogor District Court’s IT division wanted to know more about the technicalities and implementation of IT in the Constitutional Court. Bogor District Court had human resources, budget, and technical equipment constraints. He hoped to be able to apply the knowledge he received during the visit into his division. (ARS/LA)

Translated by: Yuniar Widiastuti

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