Constitutional Justices Saldi Isra and Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh at a public lecture for the State University of Padang virtually and on premise, Friday (27/8/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Ilham W. M.
Friday, August 27, 2021 | 22:33 WIB
PADANG, Public Relations—Turkey is the only country whose constitution mentions pandemic, while others mention epidemic. The 1945 Constitution also only mentions ‘a state of danger’ in Article 12. Meanwhile, technical arrangements regarding this matter are only contained in regulations such as the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) No. 1 of 2020, which realizes Article 22 of the 1945 Constitution, said Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh at a public lecture on “The Protection of the Constitutional Rights of Citizens during a Pandemic” at the State University of Padang (UNP) on Friday, August 27, 2021.
He further explained that the rights of citizens are closely related to constitutional rights, which are contained in the Constitution. There are also other rights such as legal rights as well as the People’s Consultative Assembly’s (MPR) Decree on human rights.
Several UN members regulate epidemic and pandemic in their constitutions, while in Indonesia it is contained in regulations, such as the Government Regulation (PP) No. 21 of 2020 on the Large-Scale Social Restrictions to Expedite Countermeasures against COVID-19; the Regulation of the Minister of Health No. 9 of 2020 on the Guidelines to Large-scale Social Restrictions in Accelerating COVID-19 Mitigation; the Instruction of the Minister of Home Affairs No. 37 of 2021 on the Implementation of Public Activity Restriction Level 3, Level 2, and Level 1 and Optimizing COVID-19 Handling Command Posts at Village Levels.
Justice Foekh added that based on the emergency constitutional law, there are conditions that force the declaration of a state of danger or urgency, which could be temporary. After situations are back to normal, the normal rules apply while the emergency rules no longer apply.
“Therefore, according to the Constitution, during pandemic the head of the state is given the authority to take measures for the safety of the state,” he said from the Senate room of UNP.
Protection vs. Freedom
During this lecture, alongside UNP Rector Ganefri as moderator, Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra explained that constitutional rights are guaranteed by the Constitution. This, he said, is a global discourse where the state’s protection over their citizens contrasts with the citizens’ freedom.
“Almost all constitutions mention the state’s duties, which are abstract in the political science, as they are only operational when are already implemented by the government or its apparatuses. Therefore, it is the state’s duty to protect its citizens,” he explained.
Justice Saldi illustrated this with the mandatory mask for citizens. He believes that if such a mandatory provision is not communicated and implemented with caution, it could lead to a new form of dictatorship. Therefore, he said, there needs to be protection though the judiciary, which serves to determine whether citizens’ objection to the mandate can be justified or not.
Justice Saldi also said that the 1945 Constitution gives citizens freedoms and limit them. The Preamble to the Constitution also firmly states that the states “protects all Indonesian people and the entire land of Indonesia and to develop the welfare of the people, the life of the nation, and participate in the world orderliness based on freedom, eternal peace and social justice,” therefore, the state has the obligation to protect citizens’ right during pandemic.
“This gives the state the burden to protects all Indonesian people. However, the 1945 Constitution does not regulate the technical details as it is hard to do. The constitutional mandate is [that the state] through the Constitutional Court protects the rights or citizens that are contained in Articles 28 through 34 of the 1945 Constitution. The Constitutional Court serves to find a balance point between the constitutional mandate to the Government in order to protect all citizens and the citizens’ freedoms,” he said.
Writer : Sri Pujianti/Ilham Wiryadi Muhammad
Editor : Nur R.
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 9/2/2021 11:40 WIB
Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.
Friday, August 27, 2021 | 22:33 WIB 226