Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat giving a presentation at the constitution awareness program for PPKn Teachers at SMA/SMK and MA/MAK, Wednesday (11/3/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Wijaya.

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Wednesday, November 3, 2021 | 15:51 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—On the second day of the constitution awareness program for the citizens (PPHKWN) for Teachers at SMA/SMK (senior high schools/vocational high schools) and MA/MAK (Islamic senior high schools/Islamic vocational high schools) organized by the Constitutional Court (MK) through its Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, the participants listen to presentations by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat, UII”s constitutional law professor Ni’matul Huda, and law lecturer of the University of Surabaya Hesti Armiwulan.

On the first session on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat talked about “The Constitution and Constitutionalism.” In his presentation, he said that a constitution is different from a law. It is a fundamental legal product whose position is very high, which sets it apart from other legal products, such as laws and regulations under laws. He added that the 1945 Constitution is very important because it is a basic law which the state administration refers to.

“There is a Dutch term that the constitution is different from an ordinary legal product. This shows us that the Constitution has the highest position in the structure of legal products in a state,” he said virtually.

In simple terms, he added, a constitution is a basic law that the state administration refers to as guidelines.  He said that such a basic law must be translated into legal products under it, up to the village level, to regulate state administration. This basic law occupies a very fundamental position that regulates basic matters, fundamental matters in the framework of the state.

Justice Arief further explained that Indonesia is different than other countries as it has a state ideology that is based on Pancasila. The 1945 Constitution regulates all aspects in society, nation, and state. It also has a different scope than that of the constitution of liberal, individualistic, and communist countries. The Preamble of the 1945 Constitution describes that Indonesia is based on Pancasila, especially in realizing the nation’s vision, mission, and objectives.

Legal Ideals

In the next presentation on “The State Administration System Based on the 1945 Constitution,” the Islamic University of Indonesia’s (UII) constitutional law professor Ni’matul Huda said that Indonesia’s legal ideals are rooted in Pancasila, which the founders determined as the philosophical foundation to managing the basic framework and structure of the state organization as formulated in the 1945 Constitution.

“Pancasila is the Indonesian people’s view of life regarding the relationship between humans and God, humans and fellow humans, as well as humans and the universe, which is based on the belief about the place of the individual human beings in society and the universe,” he said.

Ni’matul believes the legal ideals of Pancasila must reflect the goals of the state and a set of basic values contained in both the Preamble to and the body of the 1945 Constitution.

Constitutional Rights

Meanwhile, in a presentation on “The Guarantee of Citizens' Constitutional Rights in the 1945 Constitution,” University of Surabaya’s law lecturer Hesti Armiwulan said the 1945 Constitution only talks about 7 basic rights. However, it also has 26 additional articles on the citizens’ constitutional rights.

She said that the 1945 Constitution also lays out the state’s obligation to protect and realize human rights. She explained two categories of human rights: civil political rights and socio-cultural and economic rights. Civil political rights are also known as negative rights, or rights that will be fulfilled if the state has minimal interference. Meanwhile, socio-cultural and economic rights are also known as positive civil rights, because the bigger state inference, the more likely they be fulfilled. “The state must fulfill these rights. Lack of state presence means that it does not fulfill its obligations,” Hesti said.

Also read: Court Holds PPHKWN for SMA/SMK and MA/MAK PPKN Teachers

This PPHKWN program will take place for four days, Tuesday-Friday, November 2-5, 2021 virtually from the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center. Constitutional justices, deputy registrars, and academics will give presentations before 399 teachers on Pancasila and the Constitution, the Constitutional Court and its procedural law, and the drafting of a judicial review petition. The participants will also practice drafting a petition.

Writer        : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 11/5/2021 11:53 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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