Deputy Chief Justice Aswanto giving remarks at the opening of the constitution awareness program (PPHKWN) for workers organization virtually, Tuesday (7/26/2022) in the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK.
Tuesday, July 26, 2022 | 19:23 WIB
JAKARTA, Public Relations—The Constitutional Court (MK) through its Court's Pancasila and Constitution Education Center (Pusdik) organized a constitution awareness program (PPHKWN) for workers organizations virtually on Tuesday afternoon, July 26, 2022. The program was opened by Deputy Chief Justice Aswanto. Manpower Minister Ida Fauziah were in attendance.
In his remarks, Justice Aswanto said that human rights are different from constitutional rights. The former are rights arising as a consequence of being born a human, while the latter are obtain when one becomes a citizen.
“Therefore, constitutional rights are only granted to those who choose to be Indonesian citizens. Non-citizens’ constitutional rights are not protected in the Constitution. What the Constitution guarantees is Indonesian citizens,” he said virtually from his office in the Constitutional Court, Jakarta.
Justice Aswanto further explained that litigating in the Constitutional Court means to fight for constitutional rights that might be degraded by the enactment of a law. If those rights are fulfilled, the hopes of the nation’s founders for a just and prosperous people will be realized because aspects of nation and state life are guaranteed in the Constitution.
“The next issue is whether that guarantee can be implemented in daily life as a consequence of a law-based state, not only rechtsstaat but also a rule of law. When the constitutional rights of citizens that have been guaranteed in the Constitution are degraded or ignored, the mechanism is judicial review in the Constitutional Court,” he explained. He also encouraged the participants to take the judicial review measure in the Court should their constitutional rights ever be harmed.
The citizens’ constitutional rights were followed up on laws, which regulate all aspects in the state. As such, all rules are the embodiment of constitutional rights.
“That is why laws must not ignore or violate citizens’ constitutional rights that are guaranteed in the Constitution. As a prerequisite for a rule of law, after the constitutional amendment, an organ named the Constitutional Court was established as one of the products of the Reform,” Justice Aswanto explained.
Human Rights on Manpower
Manpower Minister Ida Fauziah said in her remarks that human rights are universal basic rights whose principles and protection are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the 1945 Constitution.
She explained that human rights for citizens in social, politics, economic, and cultural aspects are recognized as important. The 1945 Constitution also delegates their regulation in legislation on manpower.
“The implementation of recognition of human rights, especially for workers and businesspeople, is an important thing that is regulated in legislation on manpower. Indonesia has even ratified several basic conventions by the International Labour Organization,” she said.
Ida added that, nevertheless, the implementation of human rights on manpower is not simple nor easy, given the complex work relations between workers and employers, where there may be different views and interests between workers, employers, and even the government. These conflicting views and interests often result in industrial relations disputes.
Of course, she added, resolving those dynamics must be based on statutory laws because they offer settlement of such disputes.
“Statutory laws open the way to resolution of disputes in court, not only between workers and employers, but even policies and laws can be reviewed. Our Constitution guarantees the right of all citizens to file a material judicial review petition to the Constitutional Court against laws that they believe are not in line with the 1945 Constitution,” she said.
Ida believed the Constitutional Court to be the ideal avenue for justice seekers as the Court’s decisions give legal certainty. Everyone, including the Government, must follow the Constitutional Court’s decisions.
Cooperation Between Constitutional Court and Workers Organizations
Acting Head of the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center Imam Margono in his report emphasized the Constitutional Court’s commitment to improving public access to justice through PPHKWN, this time with workers’ organizations or workers unions. He said that the Court had had a similar cooperation in 2019.
“We have cooperated with workers unions twice. First time in September 2019, where we organized it virtually at the Olympic Hotel Sentul. This is the second time we held it virtually with 8 workers union organizations,” he said.
Imam revealed that this PPHKWN was attended by 246 participants from 8 workers union organizations—KSP BUMN (the Confederation of Trade Unions of State-Owned Enterprises), KSBI (the Confederation of All Indonesian Labor Unions), KSPI 1973 (the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions 1973), and others. The 4-day program started in Tuesday, July 26, and will end on Friday, July 29. The participants will not only listen to presentations but also practice drafting a judicial review petition and practice litigating in the Court virtually.
“We will also provide simulation of the case settlement management information system and, lastly, we will present evaluation of the drafting of judicial review petition,” Imam said from Pusdik in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java.
The program serves to improve understanding of Pancasila values and the Constitution, the citizens’ constitutional rights, and the constitutional avenues in fighting for constitutional rights. The participants followed presentations on Pancasila, the Constitution, the citizens’ constitutional rights, the Constitutional Court, and the procedural law for judicial review from constitutional justices, constitutional law experts, as well as Constitutional Court’s substitute registrars, researchers, and IT staff.
Writer : Utami Argawati
Editor : Nur R.
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 7/29/2022 21:07 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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