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Tuesday, June 29, 2021 | 20:52 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—The Constitutional Court (MK) decided to reject the judicial review petition No. 14/PUU-XIX/2021 of Law No. 6 of 2018 on Health Quarantine on Tuesday, June 29, 2021. The case was filed by Rowindo Hatorangan Tambunan, a resident of the Jakarta Special Capital Region. 

"[The Court] adjudicated, rejects the Petitioner’s petition in its entirety," said Chief Justice Anwar Usman alongside the other eight constitutional justices at the virtual ruling hearing.

In its legal considerations, the Court explained the definitions of health emergency and large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), which is the focus of the petition. Article 1 point 2 of the Health Quarantine Law reads, “Public Health Emergency is an extraordinary public health event that was marked by the spread of infectious disease and/or event caused by nuclear radiation, biological pollution, chemical contamination, bioterrorism, and food-born illness that poses health hazards and potentially spread across regions or nation.” Article 1 point 11 reads, “The Large-Scale Social Restriction is a restriction of activities of a certain population in an area that was suspected to have been infected by a disease and/or contaminated in order to prevent the possibility of the spread of the disease or contamination.” Article 59 reads, “The Large-Scale Social Restriction is part of the Public Health Emergency response that aims at preventing the spread of a disease between people in a certain area, which include at least school and workplace holiday, restriction of religious activities, and/or restriction of activities in public areas or facilities.”

The large-scale social restrictions can only be implemented after the government issued a public health emergency status. The Court held that the central government should be authorized to issue or revoke the status, as it has received the people’s mandate—the holder of sovereignty in a democracy—to carry out the administration, including in a public health emergency. Therefore, the Petitioner’s assertion that the government is above the people’s sovereignty cannot be justified, said Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra, who read out the legal considerations.

In relation to the Petitioner’s assertion that the lawmaking process hadn’t involved the people, the Court held that such a notion would only be proven in a formal judicial review that followed statutory legislation. Therefore, based on the aforementioned considerations, the Petitioner’s assertion of the unconstitutionality of Article 10 paragraph (1) of the Health Quarantine Law is legally groundless.

Also read:

Resident Questions Impacts of DKI Jakarta PSBB 

Petition of Health Quarantine Law Revised 

The Petitioner challenged the material substance of Article 10 paragraph (1) of the Health Quarantine Law, which stipulates that the central government may declare and revoke the public health emergency status. He felt that his constitutional rights as a citizen had been harmed due to the enactment of PSBB in the Jakarta Special Capital Region on April 10, 2020

On April 9, 2020, the Jakarta Governor issued the Decree No. 380 of 2020 on the Enactment of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) to Manage the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Jakarta Special Capital Region. It restricted the Petitioner’s daily activities because his place of business closed. He was unable to perform worship for the same reason, nor could he send his nephew/niece to school.

The Government’s policies, made out of panic due to misinformation and disinformation, led to decisions to push for PSBB (lockdown). The Petitioner believed that had the public health emergency status been declared with the people’s sovereignty in mind, it wouldn’t have resulted in his constitutional loss.  

Writer        : Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Lambang T. S.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 6/30/2021 16:19 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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