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Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | 09:13 WIB

Chief Justice Anwar Usman delivering a public lecture at the Muhammadiyah Institute of Law, Bima, Monday (12/4/2021). Photo by Humas MK.

JAKARTA, Public Relations—Chief Justice Anwar Usman delivered a public lecture at the Muhammadiyah Institute of Law, Bima on Monday, April 12, 2021. At the hybrid event (virtual and physical), the justice delivered a lecture on “The Authority of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia in Realizing Social Justice.”

“Social justice is not on the hand of the Constitutional Court, not on any [single person’s], but on ours. The Constitutional Court can only right [a wrong] when a legal product of the president and the DPR [House] is petitioned in the Court,” he said.

He further said that, based on the Constitution post-amendment, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, and other courts are not only obligated to enforce the law but also justice. Justice Anwar said this was stressed in surah An-Nisa in the Quran, in which the humanity is tasked with doling out punishment fairly, not only based on provisions.

“The enforcement of the law isn’t identical to that of justice. Enforcing law isn’t exclusive with enforcing justice. Mahatma Gandhi said that there is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience,” he said.

Justice Anwar went on to explain the Constitutional Court’s authority to examine laws, which was granted by the 1945 Constitution. He said that a law produced by 575 House members, the president, and the ministers after months could be declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court with a petition by an individual citizen who feels that their constitutional rights are violated by the enactment of that law.

He then talked about the Court’s authority to dissolve political parties, also granted by the 1945 Constitution. He revealed that once, the president requested that a political party be dissolved. After the Constitution was amended, it can only be decided by the Court with a petition by the president.

The Court is also authorized to decide on authority disputes between state institutions whose authorities are granted by the 1945 Constitution. He said a president cannot issue a provision on cassation, when it is under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

The Constitutional Court’s fourth authority is deciding on general election results. In addition, the Court is obligated to decide on the House’s opinion of alleged violation committed by the president and/or vice president. Justice Anwar said that impeachment is a difficult process. He said that before filing a petition to the Constitutional Court, the House must conduct a session with at least two-thirds of its members. Those members must give their approval. After the House charged the president and/or vice president, it must file a petition to the Court. If the Court declares the president and/or vice president guilty, the MPR (People’s Consultative Assembly) decides on the ruling following statutory regulations.

Justice Anwar said the Court has enforced social justice through some if its decisions, for example, on the Water Resources Law, the State Budget (APBN) Law on education budget, the BPJS Law. However, similar to the Supreme Court and the courts under it, the Constitutional Court can only make a ruling on petitions filed to it.

Writer: Ilham Wiryadi M.
Editor: Nur R.
Uploader: Hermanto

Translator: Yuniar Widiastuti
Editor: NL

Translation uploaded on 4/16/2021 13:01 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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