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Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo speaking at a webinar of the Special Education of Professional Advocate on Friday (24/7) from the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Hamdi.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—Every advocate must fully understand the procedural law of court hearings, as it is advocates’ key weapon. Otherwise, they could make wrong decisions. "When you are approached by a principal (petitioner) or a client who feels that their civil or constitutional rights were violated and asks to be defended, when you do not understand the procedural law, you cannot work," said Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo at a webinar of the Special Education of Professional Advocate (PKPA). The event was organized by the Legal Aids and Consultation Institution (LKBH) of Andalas University’s Law Faculty in collaboration with the Padang branch executive board (DPC) of the Indonesian Advocates Association (Peradi) on Friday noon, July 24, 2020 via Zoom.

"No matter how strong the substance of the principal (petitioner’s) petition, if their advocate fights with the wrong procedural law, the petitioner\\'s claim will be denied," he added while presenting "Advocates in the Constitutional Court."

"When litigate at the Constitutional Court but cannot describe and identify the legal subjects who can file a petition in the Constitutional Court, it is very unlikely that the substance of the petition will be considered by the panel of justices," he explained.

Justice Suhartoyo said advocates must be able to represent legal subjects who have legal standing to file a case in the Constitutional Court. Judicial review is the core business of the Constitutional Court. In the Constitutional Court a "lawsuit" is referred to as a "petition" because there is no dispute relating to personal interests.

He also explained that the procedural law in the Constitutional Court not only covers judicial review of laws against the 1945 Constitution, but also the Court’s four authorities and one obligation: the dissolution of political parties, the resolution of legislative and presidential election result disputes, and the resolution of interagency authority disputes, and the decision on the House’s opinion on an alleged violation of law committed by the president and/or vice president. In addition, as stipulated by Article 157 of the Regional Head Election, the Court was granted the temporary authority to resolve regional head election result disputes.

"Judicial review of laws in the Constitutional Court is materially and formally. Material judicial review is related to the content of laws that are deemed in conflict with the 1945 Constitution. Material review is also called substance review. Formal judicial review is related to lawmaking procedures," he explained.

Those who can file a petition to the Constitutional Court are Indonesian citizens, customary law communities, private and public legal entities, and state institutions. Foreign nationals do not have legal standing to file a petition to the Court, except those who represent or are part of the board of directors of private or public legal entities in Indonesia. Individual petitioners and relevant parties can appoint a legal counsel to accompany them in court, while private and public legal entities can appoint one to accompany or represent them in court. The petitioners can file a petition directly to the Court or online through the Court’s website.

“A legal counsel in the proceedings at the Constitutional Court doesn’t have to be an advocate, as long as they understand the Court’s procedural law and assist the principal (petitioner) after sending a letter of statement to the Court,” Justice Suhartoyo said. A petition covers the petitioner’s profile, the Constitutional Court’s authorities, the petitioner’s legal standing, posita, and petitum. He also explained that petitioners file a petition because their constitutional rights are violated by the enactment of certain laws. The loss they suffer may be specific, actual, or potential. There must be a correlation between their constitutional rights, which are guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution, and the enactment of those laws.

He also revealed that the proceedings in the Constitutional Court starts with a preliminary examination hearing where the justices give advice to the petitioner, followed by a petition revision hearing, and evidentiary hearings that present witnesses, experts, and other parties. The final hearing is a ruling hearing. The hearings in the Constitutional Court can be done through video conference or through apps such as Zoom and CloudX, which are often used amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Writer: Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor: Nur R.
Translator: Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 7/26/2020 16:26 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case where any differences occur between the English and the Indonesian version, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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