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Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah speaking at a national seminar and call-for-papers conference organized by the Institute for Research and Community Services at the University of Lampung, Thursday (19/11/2020) at the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Panji.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—Despite the pandemic, judicial institutions cannot cease its services. Similarly, the Constitutional Court (MK) should be proactive in enforcing the law and justice. The use of technology at its hearings serve to optimize the services it can offer to citizens. Through virtual hearings, the judiciary keeps contributing to safeguarding the Constitution and enforcing justice, said Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah at a virtual national seminar and call-for-papers conference organized by the Institute for Research and Community Services (LPPM) at the University of Lampung on Thursday, November 19, 2020.

At the event about “Constitutionalism amid Pandemic,” Guntur said the pandemic has inevitably created new challenges to state governance. In many countries, emergency law measures have taken in immediate emergency situations. In this case, he added, those measures could deviate from constitutional provisions, such as laws that limit the rights of citizens to travel, to gather in large numbers, and so on. There are also potential problems arising from state management practices that has shifted from democratic values.

“The pandemic could be a test to constitutionalism in a democratic government because it could lead to violations of personal rights, such as restricting a person from traveling, worshiping in public places of worship, and various other interactions. To overcome this, tactical steps and procedures are needed while maintaining the values of constitutional democracy,” said Guntur before University of Lampung’s Law Faculty Dean M. Faqih and other speakers from well-known universities across Indonesia.

Before 135 participants, Guntur also talked about the role of the judiciary in guarding the Constitution, constitutionalism, and upholding justice, which are the core of maintaining constitutional democracy. The judiciary monitors state powers by ensuring that checks and balances run effectively. The judiciary interacts with legislative and executive agencies while maximizing the duties of each institution. Citing an expert’s opinion, Guntur stated that the judiciary is the capital of a legal empire and also the referee who protects the rights of citizens. “Therefore, there are high expectations for the judiciary to enforce justice during this pandemic,” Guntur said from the Constitutional Court, Jakarta.

Modern Judiciary

Guntur said that with the vision of becoming a modern and reliable judicial institution, since 2009 the Constitutional Court has carried out remote hearings through video conference collaboratively with 42 law faculties at universities across the country, including the University of Lampung. Along with rapid developments of technology, the Court also carries out virtual hearings through applications, leading to the expansion of the meaning of the courtroom. Now courtrooms are not only limited to those at the Constitutional Court, but also include geographically distant cyberspace, all while applying existing procedures.

“The hearings at the Constitutional Court can be accessed by the public through its website or YouTube channel in real time. Therefore, the Court has practiced judicial management and services for the public by striving to fulfill the citizens’ constitutional rights. This is the real form of the enforcement of constitutionalism in the pandemic,” Guntur explained.

Writer: Sri Pujianti
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari
Translator: Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 11/23/2020 16:23 WIB

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

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