Chief Registrar Muhidin giving a public lecture at the Law Graduate Campus of Andalas University, Friday (10/15/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Panji.
Saturday, October 16, 2021 | 09:50 WIB
PADANG, Public Relations—The most-petitioned laws in the Constitutional Court (MK) are Law No. 8 of 1981 on Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP); Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections; Law No. 8 of 2015 on the Amendment to Law No. 1 of 2015 on the Stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1 of 2014 on the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors; Law No. 32 of 2004 on the Regional Government; and Law No. 8 of 2012 on Legislative Elections, said Chief Registrar Muhidin on Friday, October 15, 2021 at Andalas University (Unand), Padang for its 70th anniversary and the inauguration of the Smart Board Mini Courtroom—a modern and advanced remote hearing facility.
He said that after being founded in August 13, 2003, the Court first carried out its authority to settle election dispute cases in 2004. The challenge was to finish the proceedings swiftly to achieve speedy trial. “Election dispute cases must be settled within 14 workdays. This was an unforgettable experience,” he reminisced.
Explaining the background of the establishment of the Constitutional Court, Muhidin said that Article 24 of the 1945 Constitution before the amendment stipulated that the judicial power was carried out by the Supreme Court and other judicial bodies according to legislation. However, after the amendment, Article 24 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution stipulates, “The judicial power is exercised by a Supreme Court with its subordinated judicial bodies within the form of general courts, religious courts, military courts, administrative courts, and by a Constitutional Court.”
He added that the independent judicial power administers the judiciary to uphold law and justice based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution for the sake of the implementation of the Law-Based State of the Republic of Indonesia.
“The Constitutional Court is one of the state institutions that exercise independent judicial power to administer justice to uphold law and justice,” he said in his lecture on “The Administrative Juridical Technical Issues of Judicial Review”
Implementation Principles of Judicial Power
Muhidin further explained the implementation of the judicial power pursuant to Article 1 of Law No. 48 of 2009 “for justice based on the belief of the One Supreme God.” The judiciary applies and enforces law and justice based on Pancasila. All courts throughout the Republic of Indonesia are state courts regulated by law. In addition, the trial is carried out simply, quickly, and at low cost.
Muhidin then explained the Constitutional Court’s authorities and obligation based on Article 24C paragraphs (1) and (2) of the 1945 Constitution, Article 10 paragraphs (1) and (2) of the Constitutional Court Law, and Article 29 paragraph (1) of Law No. 48 of 2009 on the Judiciary: to review laws against the 1945 Constitution, to decide on authority disputes between state institutions whose authorities are granted by the 1945 Constitution, to decide on the dissolution of political parties, and to decide on disputes over general election results, as well as to decide on the House’s opinion on an alleged violation of law committed by the president and/or vice president. The Court also has an additional authority to rule on regional election (pilkada) disputes based on Article 157 paragraph (3) of Law No. 10 of 2016, which reads, “Cases of dispute over the final vote acquisition results of the election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors are examined and tried by the Constitutional Court until the establishment of a special judicial body.”
Muhidin also explained the principles of the Constitutional Court: ius curia novit (it cannot refuse to examine, try, and decide a case); public hearings; independence and impartiality; swift, simple, free trial; audi et alteram partem (the right to be heard equally); justice’s active participation; praesumtio iustae causa (presumption of innocence); final and binding decision; erga omnes (applies to everyone); and self-implementing/executing.
Judicial Review Data Since 2003
Per October 7, 2021, the Court has recorded 1,484 judicial review cases involving 382 laws and passed 1,442 rulings. Muhidin revealed that Law No. 8 of 1981 on Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) has been petitioned 70 times; Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections 64 times; Law No. 8 of 2015 on the Amendment to Law No. 1 of 2015 on the Stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1 of 2014 on the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors 39 times; Law No. 32 of 2004 on the Regional Government 38 times; and Law No. 8 of 2012 on Legislative Elections 36 times.
A judicial review case starts when a petitioner files the petition, then it is recorded in the electronic petition filing records (e-BP3) and checked for completeness. A APKBP (petition document incompleteness notification certificate) is given along with a DHPKP2 (petition completeness assessment result checklist) and the petition is reported in the justice deliberation meeting (RPH), after which the petition is recorded in the e-BRPK (electronic constitutional case registration book). A copy of the petition is then sent out and parties may then file a request to be relevant parties in the case. The litigants are then notified of the hearing schedule. The proceedings then start with a preliminary examination hearing, evidentiary hearings, RPH to discuss the case, and a ruling hearing. Last, copies of the decision are given to the litigants.
Administrative Juridical Technical Issues
Administrative juridical technical issues might arise as not everyone understand how to file a petition online through https://simpel.mkri.id. In addition, some petitioners might not file their petition seriously, so the Court needs to ask them for a confirmation. Meanwhile, in terms of offline filing, petitioners might file outside of service hours (08:00-15:00 WIB), in which case the admin might not be notified of the petition immediately.
Remote hearings may be carried out based on the Court’s initiative or a request by the litigants after the Court’s approval. The request should be submitted 2 days before the hearing at the latest. A commissioner of oaths from the videoconferencing facility at a nearby university will administer the litigants’ oaths. Local police officers and/or the university’s security officers will guard the proceedings.
Based on the Court’s Decision No. 27/PUU-VII/2009, a formal judicial review petition can be filed within 45 days after a law is promulgated in the state gazette. Meanwhile, based on Decision No. 79/PUU-XVII/2019, a formal judicial review petition can be filed within 60 days after the case is registered.
Muhidin said procedure for formal and material judicial review of laws and technical guidelines for them should be drafted soon. There is also the need for the Constitutional Court Law to be revised in relation to the procedural law. He also saw the need for confirmation over the establishment of a special judicial body to settle pilkada dispute cases.
He also believes that the human resources of the Registrar’s Office need to be improve, the organization needs to be reinforced, the information system integrated, and the IT use in case settlement optimized. He also explained that the governance of modern judiciary requires enlightened judges, modern administration, development of human resources, and IT-based information system, as Prof. Dr. Jimly Asshiddiqie said on hukumonline.com.
Writer : Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 10/18/2021 19:46 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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