MKRI delegation led by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat visiting the Consulate-General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday (12/20/2021). Photo by Humas MK/NL.

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Tuesday, December 21, 2021 | 15:39 WIB

ISTANBUL, Public Relations—The delegation of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI) led by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat made an official visit to the Consulate-General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Istanbul, Turkey on Monday, December 20, 2021. The KJRI had just moved to the office, located at Dikilitaş Mah., Aşık Kerem Sokak, No.26, 34349 Beşiktaş, İstanbul, five months prior.

Justice Arief began the visit by explaining the MKRI’s role in the global organizations of constitutional review bodies such as the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC) and the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ). It had also initiated, along with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey, the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (CCJ-OIC). CCJ-OIC, he added, will be inaugurated in Istanbul on December 2022. Therefore, Justice Arief requested that the KJRI in Istanbul support and assist the MKRI delegation at the event.

Justice Arief also reminded the KRI that, aside from representing the Indonesian government, it plays an important in disseminating Indonesian wisdom, especially to Indonesian nationals in Istanbul, who are mostly young students. “It is important that millennials continue to guard and implement Pancasila, the state ideology, amid disruptions due to the increasing advances in technology,” he said.

He believes that while technology provides a lot of conveniences, Indonesian people must be aware and cautious of the increase of hate speech, misinformation, and hoaxes in social media. Inaccurate information could be repeated over and over again until it becomes truth, signifying the post-truth era. Therefore, he hoped that the KJRI of Istanbul be an oasis for the Indonesian diaspora to maintain and develop characters in line with the principles of Pancasila.

Consul-General Imam As’ari, who welcomed the delegation, explained that the KJRI moved into the new office because of its heavy workload and high number of staff. He also said that amid the pandemic, in 2021 the KJRI of Istanbul had welcomed 500 delegates from Indonesia, who visited for various reasons such as attending international events, bilateral meetings between ministries/agencies, and for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

He hoped that the MKRI delegation could bring some souvenirs from Indonesia, which could help the KJRI’s performance as Indonesia’s representative.

Justice Arief Hidayat and Imam As’ari, who are both law graduates from Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed) discussed two schools of thought in law: the normative juridical and progressive. Justice Arief explained that the Court’s decision on the judicial review of the Job Creation Law represents both.  He concluded the discussion by expressing hope that the KJRI could also take the important role to explain to current and potential investors in Turkey that legal certainty and justice would continue to remain a priority in Indonesia.

The MKRI delegation’s visit to Istanbul is part of the official work visit to Ankara, which took place on December 16-18, 2021.

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

Translation uploaded on 12/22/2021 15:41 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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