---

Vice President K.H. Ma\'ruf Amin officially opening the ICCIS 2019. Photo by Humas MK/Gani.

BALI, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia K.H. Ma\'ruf Amin officially opened the 3rd Indonesian Constitutional Court International Symposium (ICCIS 2019) on Monday (4/11/2019) in Nusa Dua, Bali. Eight constitutional justices of the Republic of Indonesia, Attorney General ST Burhanudin, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster, and delegations from 39 friendly countries were in attendance.

In his remarks, Ma\'ruf stated that the fact that this symposium was the third one showed that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI) had won the trust of the international community. He said the ICCIS 2019 had very important values, because it was not only aimed at strengthening the role of the Constitutional Court as the guardian of the constitution, "But also because this event pays special attention to the role of the Constitutional Court in providing, fulfilling, protecting, and advancing the socio-economic rights of people and citizens in each country," he explained.

The Vice President explained that the state has the responsibility to advance economic, social, and cultural rights, not only as an obligation of result, but also obligation of conduct. That is, he added, when a country designs a policy, it must consider the constitutionality and the outcome.

"Whether these policies will be able to optimally provide protection for the rights of citizens, I believe that the constitutions of all countries mandate the protection of the economic and social rights of their citizens. This is where the role of the Constitutional Court can be strengthened and affirmed," he said.

According to Ma\'ruf, the role of the MKRI is very important, because at present the world is almost without barriers. Information is highly accessible. The world changes so fast. The challenges ahead are extraordinary. The law is required to be more prepared and alert. The law must be firmly enforced. Therefore, he added, big ideas in the midst of the rapid development are really needed. "Everything is to reaffirm the most important tasks of state institutions: serving, protecting, and prospering the people," he said.

Medium to Exchange Thoughts

Meanwhile, Chief Constitutional Justice Anwar Usman stated that the international symposium is part of Indonesia\'s commitment to strengthen human rights protection, to uphold democracy, and to realize the rule of law.

"This international symposium can serve as a forum to exchange thoughts and experiences, especially for judicial institutions, in providing protection of the socio-economic rights of citizens, from various perspectives of different countries," he explained.

Justice Anwar added that social justice and the protection of economic rights are always interesting to discuss. That is because one of the objectives of the formation of a state is to provide protection of economic rights and social justice for all its citizens, to create a prosperous state. In the context of international law, protection of economic rights is part of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

In the past, many people argued that providing protection for economic rights and social justice was the responsibility of the government only. However, this view has changed. Protection of economic rights is no longer the responsibility of the government alone, but also of the judiciary. (Lulu Anjarsari)

Translated by: Dedy/Yuniar Widiastuti

---