The Constitutional Court of Turkey organizing the 7th Summer School Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC), Saturday (14/9) in Ankara-Eskisehir, Turkey. Photo by Humas MK/Dodi.

ANKARA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—The Constitutional Court of Turkey organized the 7th Summer School Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC) for countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. The 7th Summer School was held on September 8–14, 2019, in Ankara-Eskisehir, Turkey.

President of the Constitutional Court of Turkey Zuhtu Arslan, in his remarks, said that the number of delegates in this year\'s summer school organized by the AACC Center for Training and Human Resources Development was the highest during. The delegations in attendance came from 22 countries including Turkey as the organizer, and consist of 36 participants who presented their respective papers. The countries participating (in alphabetical order) were Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Croatia, Indonesia, Georgia, Philippines, Palestine, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Korea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand, Cyprus, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

The 7th Summer School takes the theme “Presumption of Innocence.” In the presentations, the delegates shared their knowledge about the theory, practice, and experience in the development of presumption of innocence from each country, specifically regarding court decisions. In principle, all countries recognize and apply presumption of innocence as a universal principle. This principle is crucial in protecting and guaranteeing the rights of citizens, especially as a suspect or defendant, because it emphasizes that a person must not be considered guilty before any permanent court decision that states that they are guilty.

Indonesian delegates Substitute Registrar Syukri Asy\'ari and Legal and Registrar Administration Bureau staff Achmad Dodi Haryadi conveyed several important things related to the implementation of the presumption of innocence in Indonesia specifically with reference to the decisions of the Indonesian Constitutional Court. Some of these, among others, first, that presumption of innocence is limited to the criminal justice system, second, it is not a prerequisite for administrative measures such as temporary dismissal of certain positions, in casu House members and regional heads. On the other hand, permanent dismissal of such positions is unconstitutional because it is against the presumption of innocence.

"Third, presumption of innocence applies to defendants who have not been found guilty by the judge. Fourth, presumption of innocence is not absolute because suspects and defendants may constitutionally be detained, although the essence it is different from the punishment that must be imposed with a court decision that has permanent legal force. Fifth, in the case of gratification or bribery, presumption of innocence can be negated in order to prioritize and pursue legal certainty, expediency, and justice, because in this context, the principle used is presumption of guilt," Syukri said. (Dodi/LA)

Translated by: Yuniar Widiastuti