Chief Justice Anwar Usman giving a public lecture for the Law Faculty of Soedirman University (Unsoed), Purwokerto, Central Java, Friday (5/13/2022). Photo by Humas MK/Hidayat.
Friday, May 13, 2022 | 16:04 WIB
JAKARTA, Public Relations—The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK) Anwar Usman gave a public lecture on “The Constitutional Court within the Administration of the Republic of Indonesia” at the studium generale of the Law Faculty of Soedirman University (FH Unsoed), Purwokerto, Central Java on Friday, May 13, 2022 at J3 Hall of Unsoed. The lecture was part of the 41th anniversary of the university.
At the event, the Court also signed a memorandum of understanding with FH Unsoed. Witnessed by the Chief Justice, Head of the Public Relations and Protocol Bureau Heru Setiawan and FH Unsoed Dean Muhammad Fauzan signed the MoU.
The chief justice said in his lecture that the birth of the constitutional court started with Marbury v Madison in the U.S. in 1803. He added that the establishment of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia after the amendment of the 1945 Constitution in 1999–2002 was also aimed at guarding the citizens’ constitutional rights.
“In this context, the Constitutional Court is tasked with guarding the guarantee of citizens’ constitutional rights through the establishment of laws as outlined in the 1945 Constitution,” he said.
Justice Anwar believed that laws were the political products of the legislature and the executive. These two state institutions gain legitimacy in their power through democracy with a mechanism known as elections. Elections produce majority votes, which ultimately lead to the majority power in parliament and presidency.
He also talked about Article 24 of the 1945 Constitution as the basis for the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court within the Indonesian judiciary. Article 24 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution reads, “Judicial power shall be made by a Supreme Court and judicial bodies thereunder within a general judicature, religious court, military court, state administration court, and by a Constitutional Court.”
The judiciary, he said, is an independent power that holds a judicature for law reinforcement and justice. Thus, the Constitutional Court, as one of the judicial institutions, adjudicates certain cases under its purview based on the 1945 Constitution.
“The Constitutional Court’s existence can be seen in Law No. 24 of 2003 on the Constitutional Court,” he stressed.
He also explained the Court’s jurisdiction pursuant to Article 24C paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution as well as Article 10 paragraphs (1) and (2) of Law No. 24 of 2003 as amended by Law No. 8 of 2011 on the Constitutional Court. “The Constitutional Court adjudicates at the first and final levels, with a final decision, to review laws against the 1945 Constitution, to decide on authority disputes between state institutions whose authorities are granted by the Constitution, to decide on the dissolution of political parties, and to decide on disputes over general election results,” he explained.
Pursuant to Article 24C paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, the Court is obligated to decide on the House of Representatives’ (DPR) opinion on an alleged violation of law committed by the president and/or vice president or whether they no longer meet the requirements of their offices. This obligation is also based on Article 7 paragraphs (1) to (5) and Article 24C paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, as emphasized by Article 10 paragraph (2) of Law No. 24 of 2003.
Aside from the aforementioned four authorities and one obligation, the Court also has additional authorities to review government regulations in lieu of laws (perppu) and to hear disputes over the results or regional elections (pilkada) until a special judicial body is established to do so, pursuant to Article 157 paragraph (3) of Law No. 10 of 2016 on the Regional Head Election.
Writer : Utami Argawati
Editor : Nur R.
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 5/17/2022 10:36 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.
Friday, May 13, 2022 | 16:04 WIB 208