Senior researcher Pan Mohamad Faiz welcoming Philippines and Malaysian students in a summer course on the Introduction to Indonesian Law, Thursday (7/28/2022). Photo by Humas MK/Bayu.

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Thursday, July 28, 2022 | 15:53 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—Fifteen students from the Philippines and Malaysia visited the Constitutional Court (MK) during a Summer Course on the Introduction to Indonesian Law on Thursday afternoon, July 28, 2022. They were welcomed by senior researcher Pan Mohamad Faiz in the Court’s hall.

“This time we will discuss the authorities and functions of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia. The students’ visit to the Court this time is the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit,” he said alongside the manager of international cooperation and journal management of the Law Faculty of the University of Indonesia Arie Afriansyah.

Meanwhile, Arie stressed that it was not easy to learn everything about the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia from the hour-long presentation by Faiz. “Hopefully [the presentation] would give enough insight on the Court’s duties,” he said to the students.

Amendment to 1945 Constitution

Faiz started his presentation by explaining the background to the amendment to the 1945 Constitution in 1999‒2002. One of the reasons was because the power had been centered in President Soeharto, who had stayed in power for 32 years and was deemed authoritarian.

Then, the 1998 Reform happened, initiated by students all over Indonesia. Along with the public, they brought Soeharto down. They demanded a better constitutional system, one of which was by forming a Constitutional Court.

Another reason for the amendment, Faiz revealed, was the ambiguity of the checks and balances system between state institutions. After the amendment, the structure of the state, which initially had positioned the MPR (People’s Consultative Assembly) as the highest state institution, was changed. Then, state institutions whose authorities were mentioned in the 1945 Constitution were made equal. The Constitutional Court was also established on August 13, 2003 as the 78th constitutional court in the world.

Constitutional Court’s Authorities

Faiz also explained that the Constitutional Court has the authority to adjudicate laws against the Constitution, to settle authority disputes between state institutions whose authorities are granted by the 1945 Constitution, to decide the dissolution of political parties, and to settle disputes over general election results.

Faiz also talked about two judicial review models: the decentralized system (American system) where both the Supreme Court and general courts may perform judicial review of laws, and the centralized system (European system) where a separate, independent judiciary such as the Constitutional Court does it. It is also obligated to decide the House’s opinion on an alleged violation of law or disgraceful act committed by the president and/or vice president.

He also explained the functions of the Constitutional Court as the guardian of the Constitution, state ideology, and democracy; the guardian of human rights and the citizens’ constitutional rights; and as the final interpreter of the Constitution.

Constitution

In the Q&A session, a student asked whether individuals could file a petition to the Constitutional Court without an attorney. “Yes, they can, because this is part of the people’s civil rights. Every individual has constitutional rights that cannot be interfered with. The judicial review petition is not limited to those in the field of law,” Faiz stressed.

Translation uploaded on 8/1/2022 07:28 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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