---

Principal Petitioners Marcell Kurniawan and Roslianna Ginting in the preliminary examination hearing of the judicial review of the Road Traffic and Land Transportation (LLAJ) Law, Wednesday (19/2) in the Plenary Courtroom of the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Gani.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—The Constitutional Court (MK) held a preliminary examination hearing of the judicial review of Law No. 22 of 2009 on the Road Traffic and Land Transportation (LLAJ) in the Plenary Courtroom of the Constitutional Court, Wednesday (19/2/2020). The case No. 14/PUU-XVIII/2020 was petitioned by Marcell Kurniawan (Petitioner I) and Roslianna Ginting (Petitioner II), who argue that Article 77 of the LLAJ Law that reads, "To obtain a driving license, the prospective drivel shall possess the driving competence that can be obtained through education and training or self-learning," is contrary to Article 28A, Article 28B, and Article 31 paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution.

Marcell questioned the phrase "self-learning" in the article, which he deems potentially threaten the lives of others. In this case, many people will be incompetent, currently learning drivers. This can result in accidents during training. In addition, Petitioner I, a driving instructor and driving competency assessor, feels disadvantaged by the a quo provision because there is not any recognition, guarantee, protection, and legal certainty of his profession. Petitioner II, an entrepreneur in a driving training course and institution, felt that there was no guaranteed protection for courses and training institutions that had been accredited by the Government because of the "self-learning" permission.

The Petitioners assumed that the phrase "self-learning" could legitimate prospective drivers to not enroll in training programs offered by Government-accredited institutions and to not undergo competency test by certified institutions. "So this is detrimental to the institutions because there is no legal force that requires prospective drivers to be trained and certified by legitimate institutions," Marcell explained before a hearing chaired by Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo along with Constitutional Justices Saldi Isra and Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh.

Therefore, through the petition the Petitioners requested that the Court declare Article 77 of Law No. 22 of 2009 concerning Road Traffic and Land Transportation unconstitutional and not legally binding. 

Article Being Challenged

Justice Saldi advised the Petitioners to pay close attention to the article being tested considering that what was petitioned is the entire Article 77 of the LLAJ Law. He warned them of the impact of the revocation of the article should it be granted by the Court. So, the Petitioners are required to revise it with a focus on the damaging part. He also observed the Petitioners\' legal standing in relation to potential damage. "If you do not have legal standing, the principal petition will not be continued. So, [explain] the constitutional damage to the Petitioners so that the relation can be seen," Justice Saldi explained. 

Justice Foekh observed the Petitioners\' request that the phrase "self-learning" be removed from the a quo article. He requested that the Petitioners understand the erga omnes nature of the Constitutional Court rulings, which applies to all citizens in Indonesia. "So [you] need to question whether throughout Indonesia there are already available courses that are not used optimally. So try to consider, if the phrase is omitted, then can we not self-learn driving?" he asked.

Justice  Suhartoyo requested that the Petitioners strengthen the arguments of the reasons for the petition to strengthen their legal standing. "What are the disadvantages of [driving courses]? Self-learning in a safe place, in a field, is that not allowed too?" he asked. 

At the end of the hearing, Justice Suhartoyo reminded the Petitioners to submit a revised petition no later than Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at 13:00 WIB to the Registrar\'s Office. (Sri Pujianti/A.L./LA)

Translated by: Yuniar Widiastuti

Translation uploaded on 2/24/2020

---