Constitutional Justice Wahiduddin Adams speaking at a national seminar organized by the Sharia Faculty of UIN Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin (Banten), Friday (11/12/2020) from the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Panji.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—Constitutional Justice Wahiduddin Adams spoke at a national seminar organized by the Sharia Faculty of UIN (State Islamic University) Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin (Banten) on Friday, December 11, 2020 virtually. At the seminar, he said the freedom of opinion and expression applies to all ideas, even offensive ones, but such freedom comes with some degree of responsibility and can be restricted by the Government legitimately. The state, he said, has the obligation to prohibit hate speech and fighting words. Such restriction is valid as it is done for public interest or people’s rights and reputation.

“Any restriction to the freedom of opinion and expression must be regulated by a law in a clear and brief manner, as to be easily understandable. The party that places the restriction must be able to act proportionally. Such restriction must have an authority to stop violations and to apply due process,” he added.

Justice Wahiduddin Adams believes the state of Indonesia has the obligation to protect, promote, enforce, and fulfill the right to freedom of opinion and expression as a part of human rights, as mandated in Article 28I paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution. However, although it is fundamental, freedom of opinion and expression is not an absolute right. Even in the United States, one of the countries with the strongest constitutional protections for freedom of opinion or speech, restrictions apply.

As a sovereign, law-based, democratic republic that upholds human rights in the 1945 Constitution, Indonesia should no longer have articles in its Criminal Code that reduce the freedom of opinion and expression, the freedom of information, and the principle of legal certainty. So, in the Criminal Code bill, which will renew the Criminal Code of the colonial era, must also not contain similar articles. Moreover, the criminal penalty for violating Article 134—a prison sentence up to six years—can be used to obstruct the democratic process, especially access to public offices, which requires that a person has never been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment of five years or more. In addition, the defamation offense against the president and/or vice president is already regulated in Articles 310 and 321 of the Criminal Code (personal insult) as well as Article 207 (insult to president and/or vice president regarding their official capacity).

Justice Wahiduddin added that in exercising human rights, we are all bound by regulations where we must respect the rights of others. This is stipulated in Article 28J paragraphs (1) and (2) of the 1945 Constitution. Article 28G of the 1945 Constitution recognizes that honor and dignity are constitutional rights and therefore protected by the Constitution. Paragraph 1 of the article reads, "Each person is entitled to protection of self, their family, honor, dignity, the property they own, and has the right to feel secure and to be protected against threats from fear of doing or not doing something that is part of basic rights." Meanwhile, paragraph (2) emphasizes that "Each person has the right to be free from torture or inhuman and degrading treatment and shall be entitled to obtain political asylum from another country." In addition, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) shows that guarantee and protection of one’s honor and dignity are universally applicable legal norms.

In conclusion, both national and international law guarantees the right to dignity and reputation. Thus, freedom and rights are not limitless and cannot excuse one from attacking others’ dignity and reputation, because it is unconstitutional and is against international law. 

Writer: Utami Argawati
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari
Translator: Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 12/15/2020 19:23 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.