Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul giving a public lecture at the University of North Sumatera, Saturday (10/16/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Agung.

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Saturday, October 16, 2021 | 19:56 WIB

MEDAN, Public Relations—One of the demands for the Reform was the amendment to the 1945 Constitution. Before the amendment, the 1945 Constitution was very flexible and simple. Therefore, a change as the MPR’s (People’s Consultative Assembly) power was considered unsuitable to run the government. Consequently, it was necessary to change the administration. The amendment to the 1945 Constitution did not change the Preamble as it contains the goals of the state and the basic formulation of the state. The amendment process was carried out in four stages in 1999-2002, said Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul at a public lecture and the inauguration of a Mini Courtroom at the University of North Sumatera (USU) on Saturday, October 16, 2021. USU Law Faculty Dean Mahmul Siregar, USU Rector Muryanto Amin, and the academic community (undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate) of the Law Faculty of USU attended the lecture on “The Protection of the (Indonesian) Citizens’ Constitutional Rights Amid Pandemic.”

The amendment, Justice Manahan said, changed the body of the 1945 Constitution. Before the amendment, it consisted of 16 chapters and 37 articles. Now it consists of 21 chapters, 73 articles, and 170 paragraphs with 2 articles of transitional provisions and 2 additional provisions. The amendment led to more a complex regulation of the citizens’ constitutional rights.

“In the amendment, the Constitutional Court, which is a child of the Reform era, is affirmed in Article 24C of the 1945 Constitution, while its authorities are laid out in Article 24C paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution,” Justice Manahan said alongside moderator Afilla, USU law lecturer, from USU in Medan.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Constitutional Court must continue providing services to the community and implement government policies to curb the spread of COVID-19. As such, the Court carries out remote hearings and onsite hearings with strict adherence to health protocols.

Judicial Review of Perppu

In response to the pandemic, the Government issued Perppu (Government Regulation in Lieu of Law) No. 1 of 2020. Many people lodged a petition on it to the Constitutional Court, while some withdrew theirs when the perppu was passed into Law No. 2 of 2020.

Justice Manahan explained that the Court’s authority to review perppu is additional, as a perppu is created or proposed by the president due to a state of emergency.

“Following the petitions on this perppu to the Constitutional Court, the constitutional justices must formulate the constitutionality of the norm being petitioned,” he said.

Besides Justice Manahan, constitutional law lecturer of USU Faisal Akbar Nasution gave a presentation on “The Protection of the Citizens’ Constitutional Rights in Healthcare After the Founding of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia.” After the two speakers finished, the participants were given an opportunity to express their views, ask questions, and give inputs on the topics.

Writer        : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Nur R.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 10/19/2021 10:04 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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