Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah delivering a lecture at the Law Faculty of the Muslim University of Indonesia, Tuesday (3/1/2022). Photo by Humas MK/Hamdi.

---

Tuesday, March 1, 2022 | 14:36 WIB

MAKASSAR, Public Relations—Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah delivered a public lecture on “Digital Judiciary of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia” on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, which was organized by the Constitutional Court (MK) and the Law Faculty of the Muslim University of Indonesia (FH UMI) both onsite and online, following health protocols.

Guntur, who was present onsite, said the Court as the fruit of the 1998 Reform had been designed from the start as a modern judicial institution. “So, as a modern judicial institution, it means that the initial design was formed by the thinkers [and] the makers of the 1945 Constitution and then the Constitutional Court Law [was] designed from the beginning and [it was expected] that the Constitutional Court would become an example of truly modern judiciary," said Guntur at the event, which UMI constitutional law expert Fahri Bachmid also attended.

Guntur believes the implementation of modern justice is not as easy as merely talking about it. This is because there are various aspects involved.

In addition, he emphasized that the Indonesian nation can progress if all its citizens adopt the mindset that technology is important. “I remember Steve Jobs’ message to be friendly with technology. So, he first asked [that we] be friends with technology. Anyone who tries to challenge technology will be left by technological developments. What does that mean? Left out by the times,” he explained.

Guntur stressed that in the field of law, talking about technology is not easy and it is the toughest challenge. In other fields, it is not too difficult, that during the pandemic many sectors adapted quickly. Meanwhile, in the field of law, legality, rationale, and so on are always considered.

He further explained that the implementation of technology in the Constitutional Court has started since its founding in 2003. However, he added, it gradually returned to old patterns. “When I became secretary-general, I immediately stepped on the gas. I had clear legal standing. I encouraged technology and the results have been clear for 4 or 5 years and the Court even received awards for always being at the forefront of technology,” he said.

Guntur also explained that the legal philosopher, Jeremy Bentham had laid technological foundation. He believed the interests of the people must always take precedence over personal or group interests. Bentham had made it clear that as long as there is no transparency, there will be no justice. “Transparency goes hand in hand with justice. So, [Bentham] said that transparency is the spirit of justice. Hence, a judge is tried when he tries a case,” he explained. (*)

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

Translation uploaded on 3/2/2022 15:46WIB

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.

---