Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah delivering his report on the Thanksgiving of the Constitutional Court’s 18th Anniversary, Friday (13/8/2021) at the Hall of the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Teguh.

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Friday, August 13, 2021 | 16:19 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—After holding a flag-hoisting ceremony to commemorate its 18th anniversary on Friday, August 13, 2021, the Constitutional Court (MK) continued the celebration with a tasyakuran (thanksgiving event) virtually from the hall of the first floor of the Court’s building. Guests from other state institutions were invited to the event. Delivering his remarks, Chief Justice Anwar Usman invited all guests and the Court’s staff members to understand the importance of self-reflection as a constitutional judicial institution in Indonesia.

“The constitutional justices in settling various cases do not find is easy to satisfy everyone with the cases and the decisions that they deliver. However, resoluteness in solving cases remains an important key. Happy 18th birthday to the Constitutional Court,” he said.

Constitutional Court’s Performance

Meanwhile, Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah reported that since its founding 18 years prior, the Constitutional Court had settled 3,243 cases—1,412 judicial review cases, 27 interagency dispute cases, 67 general election dispute cases, and 1,128 regional head election dispute cases.

Entering the second year since the COVID-19 pandemic, Guntur said, the Court didn’t find major challenges in providing justice seekers with access to justice. The Court even showed excellent performance and achievements. It received an Archives Rescue and Preservation Award from the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI), a 2019 Financial Report Award, an unqualified opinion (WTP) award fourteen times in a row, an award as the fifth best member of the National Legal Documentation and Information Network (JDIHN), and a Public Disclosure Award. The Constitutional Court’s Pancasila and Constitution Education Center won an Integrity Zone Award Towards a Corruption-Free Zone (WBK).

Guntur also said that the demands from and challenges for the Court would be increasingly complex given the pandemic and the demands for digital transformation. Therefore, the Court must also strive to improve the quality of its support and services to the community as a modern and trusted judicial institution. He also revealed that, unfortunately, 178 employees were detected positive for COVID-19 from 2020 to 2021.

“Sorrowfully, we lost two employees, who have preceded us to face the Almighty: Rahmat Santoso and Gani Yogaswara. Our best prayers are always with them, hopefully both of them [passed on] husnul khatimah [with a good ending] and occupy the best place by Allah SWT. Hopefully, along with the vaccination that had been carried out a while ago, the entire family of the Constitutional Court will always be in good immunity and stamina and be blessed with health,” said Guntur from the hall of the first floor of the Court’s building.

Constitution Awards

On the occasion, the Court also handed Constitution Awards to partners and stakeholders. Guntur said that the awards reflected the Court’s appreciation of and gratitude to the support of all parties for the success of the Court’s duties and responsibilities. The awards include those for the most active institution/agency at judicial review and interagency dispute hearings, national partners, print and online media journalists, television journalists, managers of video conference facilities, winners of the infographics contest on the Court’s decisions, authors of legal and constitutional articles on the Court’s law journal Constitutional Review, and authors of legal and constitutional articles on the Court’s journal Jurnal Konstitusi.

Happy 18th anniversary to the Constitutional Court. May you always be victorious in upholding law and justice!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWr4b7fdWSU

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

Translation uploaded on 8/18/2021 13:19 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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