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Saturday, May 22, 2021 | 15:10 WIB

BIMA, Public Relations—Chief Justice Anwar Usman spoke at a socialization event organized by the Bima City DPRD (Regional Legislative Council) on Friday, May 21, 2021. He delivered a presentation on “The Constitutional Court’s Role in Maintaining the Citizens’ Constitutional Rights in a Democratic State.”

He explained that the discussion on the Constitutional Court in Indonesia started while the founding fathers were discussing the 1945 Constitution. The idea was initiated by Prof. Muhammad Yamin, when the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Works for Independence (BPUPKI) was discussing the constitution draft. Then he talked about the importance of a judicial institution that has the authority to review laws. However, this idea was rejected for several reasons, including that Indonesia had just become independent, so because there were not many qualified law graduates.

When the amendment to the 1945 Constitution was discussed during the Reform era, this idea resurfaced. Justice Anwar said that, due to the amendment, MPR (People’s Consultative Assembly) is no longer the highest state institution as its supremacy is relegated to the Constitution.

“Therefore, institutional and constitutional mechanisms are needed—in the form of a state institution—to prevent interagency disputes, which has now become equal and perform checks and balances on each other,” he added.

Justice Anwar then explained the Court’s authorities and obligation. He said that the Court’s judicial review authority is a political product of two state branches—the legislative and executive. Both branches’ powers were legitimized by the democratic mechanism of general elections. The elections produce majority votes, which lead to the power in the parliament and the executive branch (president).

Such a concept applies in nearly all democratic states that are based on the people’s sovereignty, where the highest power is vested in the people. This seems like an ideal concept. However, such democracy has flaws because the majority is seen as truth while it might not be so, and the minority is forced to follow.

Post-amendment to the 1945 Constitution, Indonesia’s democracy must go along with nomocracy as the consensus of the highest norm of the state. Its logical consequence is that, although a law is created by the legislative and the executive, judicial review is imperative to prevent the tyranny of majority over the minority and to preserve state constitutionality. It is also imperative as checks and balances between state powers and to protect the citizens’ constitutional rights from political policies that may infringe on those rights.

Writer        : Agung Sumarna
Editor        : Nur R.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 5/25/2021 15:20 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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