Chief Justice Anwar Usman giving a keynote speech at the inauguration of the Smart Board Mini Courtroom at Andalas University, Friday (10/15/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Hendy.
Friday, October 15, 2021 | 15:37 WIB
JAKARTA, Public Relations—Material law or substantive law can only be enforced through formal law or fair procedural law that provides justice seekers with legal certainty, said Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK) Anwar Usman when giving a keynote speech at the inauguration of the Smart Board Mini Courtroom on Friday afternoon, October 15, 2021 at Andalas University, Padang. The event was a collaboration between the Court and the university on the 70th anniversary of the Law Faculty of Andalas University (FH Unand).
“Procedural law can be likened to a bridge for litigants to achieve justice. Without procedural law that provides fair legal certainty, it is impossible for material law to be enforced,” he said virtually before Deputy Rector I of Unand Mansyurdin, FH Unand Dean Busyra Azheri, Wali Nagari of Pasia Laweh Zul Arifin, Unand faculty figures, and academics.
Guidelines for Litigants
Justice Anwar said no code law has regulated the Court’s procedural law, so non-formal Constitutional Court Regulations were formed in its place. Old and new PMKs on procedural law acts as guidelines for litigants.
“In certain situations, it is not impossible that the constitutional justices have to deliberate to take certain actions when the development of the case calls for new [policies]. This is the characteristic of the Constitutional Court’s procedural law,” he said.
He explained that procedural law is theoretically a product of the lawmaking process and the responsibility of the legislatures. However, its practical developments also have justifiable legal reasoning bases. Ideally, both of these can occur hand in hand and complement each other to realize fair legal certainty for justice-seeking citizens.
The Constitutional Court, he said, serves to enforce the Constitution, so the material law that it guards must be in line with the Constitution and the formal law that it uses to enforce the material law with must be in line with the material law.
“However, we understand that the Constitution would not regulate procedural laws in detail and rigidly. Therefore, some believe that the regulation of the Constitutional Court’s procedural law through PMKs and the Court’s decisions is a characteristic of a constitutional judicial body,” he stressed.
Not Detailed
The chief justice’s speech was followed by a public lecture on “The Constitutional Court and the Characteristics of Its Procedural Law” by Constitutional Justices Saldi Isra and Suhartoyo. Justice Saldi said that although the Constitutional Court Law has been revised three times since 2003, the regulation of the Court’s procedural law in it is limited and not detailed. Legal experts believe this could cause issues down the line. So, Justice Saldi said, there has been talk about putting it into a code law.
“In the Constitutional Court Law, there are the general procedural law and specific ones for each [of the Court’s] authority, but they cannot bridge the needs to litigate in the Court, so some of them are now [regulated] in the Constitutional Court Regulations. When they entered into force, there were new developments in the procedural law. We maintain that as long as it has not been regulated, the justice deliberation meeting can mitigate it, including the hearing method that we adopt amid the pandemic,” he said.
He explained that long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court had collaborated with universities throughout Indonesia to provide videoconferencing facilities for remote hearings. However, they were not used optimally by law students, including in Unand.
“This is because our legal system led to students not caring much about court decisions. The strong influence of the European continental model in our legal system affects the learning process, where students spend more time reading legislation and have indifference over court decisions,” he stressed.
In many other countries, court decisions are key sources of the law. However, although Indonesia has started to shift that way, “The universities have not,” Justice Saldi stressed.
Manifestation of Constitutional Court’s Procedural Law
Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo in his presentation said that the inauguration of the Smart Board Mini Courtroom at Unand was a manifestation of Constitutional Court’s procedural law. Since 2009 the Court has carried out remote hearings through videoconference.
“The most basic essence is that videoconference hearings reflect the Court’s enormous spirit to reach all elements of society, especially justice seekers whose constitutional rights are violated,” he said. Therefore, videoconference in the Court is now reinforced through a more modern and advanced Smart Board Mini Courtroom.
Justice Suhartoyo further explained that litigating in the Court is free of charge. “There cannot be any charge to litigate in the Constitutional Court, which is different than in general courts, where it is private and there is a charge,” he revealed.
In addition, legal counsel or advocate is not required. The petitioner may appear before the Court on their own but they can also appoint a counsel to assist them. “If the petitioner wants to litigate on their own without a legal counsel but would like assistance by someone who knows the Court’s procedural law, this is possible on the condition that the assistance helps [the petitioner],” Justice Suhartoyo explained.
Writer : Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor : Nur R.
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 10/18/2021 10:00 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.
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