Participants of Level IV PIM Training Class of XXXI and XXXII of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) visited the Constitutional Court on Wednesday (27/2) in the Delegation Room of the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK.

Researcher Irfan Nur Rachman welcomed the 60 participants of Level IV PIM Training Class of XXXI and XXXII of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) in the Delegation Room of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday (27/2/2019). Representative of the participants, Nyoman, in his speech said that the purpose of the visit was to learn about nationality, so the participants were expected to learn about the roles and functions of the Constitutional Court as law enforcement in Indonesia. “At this meeting, we hope to be informed about the Constitutional Court and the history of the Constitution by the experts,” said Nyoman, who assisted the participants.

Researcher Irfan then explained the history of the Constitutional Court, which in inseparable from the amendments to the 1945 Constitution. According to him, the Constitutional Court emerged for the state during a transition period, from an authoritarian state to a democratic one. Indonesia, he added, was the 78th country to adopt the idea to form a Constitutional Court.

Irfan further explained that there was a crisis to amend the Constitution, which had been a discourse for a long time in Indonesia, even in the early days of the formation of the Indonesian state, there had been several constitutions, including the Law of the Republic of the United States of Indonesia, which was in effect in 1949, the Provisional Constitution that was used in 1950, which then returned to the 1945 Constitution. During the BPUPK (Investigating Committee for Preparatory Works for Independence) Session debate led by Soekarno, Irfan said, the constitution formed at that time was temporary.

When Indonesia was really established, there were amendments to the Constitution. However, decades after Indonesia\'s independence, those amendments had not been implemented, and the old law gave rise to an authoritarian regime. Irfan mentioned that during such a regime, the presidential term of office was not restricted, resulting in a regime being in power for a long period.

"The result is an abuse of power. In 1998, arose demands to amend the Constitution and redesign the Indonesian constitutional system, including the Constitutional Court as a state institution that had the authority to review laws against the 1945 Constitution," Irfan explained.

Irfan then explained the concept of the rule of law adopted by Indonesia, which was a combination of the concept of rechsstaat and rule of law with Indonesian characteristics. According to him, Indonesia is a religious nation whose laws must be based on divine values. "So, religious characters flow into all aspects of state life," he explained.

During the visit, Irfan elaborated the authorities of the Constitutional Court as stated in Article 24C Paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution. In addition, he also mentioned several judicial review cases submitted by individuals related to the violation of constitutional rights as citizens, both actual and potential, which were granted. (Sri Pujianti/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)