Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul giving a public lecture at the Muhammadiyah Education University of Sorong, West Papua, Thursday (8/25/2021). Photo by MKRI/MMA.

---

Thursday, August 25, 2022 | 20:59 WIB

SORONG (MKRI)—Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul talked about the latest developments of constitutional law and the Constitutional Court at a legal public lecture at the Faculty of Social and Humanity Sciences of the Muhammadiyah Education University of Sorong, West Papua (FISHUM UNIMUDA) on Thursday, August 25, 2022. The on-site and virtual lecture was entitled “The Protection of Citizens’ Constitutional Rights during a Pandemic.”

Justice Manahan was welcomed by rector Rustamadji and dean Aldilla Yulia W Sutikno as well as the entire academics of UNIMUDA. In his remarks, Rustamadji expressed his appreciation for the justice’s lecture.

“This is the first visit by a constitutional justice to UNIMUDA since the university was founded in 2004. We are thankful for His Excellency’s lecture, which will provide a new legal perspective,” said the awardee of the Republika Agent of Change 2018.

Law on COVID-19

Justice Manahan said the COVID-19 pandemic, which had global and national impacts, also gave birth to new legal conditions in the era of health emergencies. The birth of the Government Regulation in Lieu of Law on COVID-19, later ratified as Law No. 2 of 2020 (COVID-19 Law), was petitioned to the Constitutional Court. One of the Constitutional Court decisions that caught the public’s attention was Decision No. 37/PUU-XVIII/2020. Justice Manahan revealed that the law was petitioned for its many issues.

“The Petitioners questioned the DPD’s not being involved in the discussion process to determine whether the perppu was approved or not, the virtual meeting held by the House, and the lack of transparency in the use of the COVID-19 budget,” said the alum of the North Sumatera University.

In Decision No. 37/PUU-XVIII/2020, the Court eliminated the immunity right of the Financial System Stability Committee (KKSK) in mitigating COVID-19 and decided the two-year enforcement of the COVID-19 Law. “The Court declared Article 27 paragraph (1) not constituting state loss if done with good intention and following legislation,” he stressed.

Similarly, the Court also revoked Article 27 paragraph (3) of the Appendix to the COVID-19 Law. “So, the Constitutional Court declared the object not an object in a lawsuit to the state administrative court as long as it is related to the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and is carried out in good faith and in accordance with the laws and regulations,” he said.

The Court also declared Article 29 of the Appendix of the perppu no longer valid since the president’s announcement of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Pandemic, State’s Role, Economic Recovery

In addition to discussing the decision, Justice Manahan also explained the state’s role in overcoming the pandemic, starting from the national economic recovery program (PEN) as the government’s step to protect, maintain, and improve the economic capacity of business actors during the pandemic. Recovery program for SOEs (BUMN) during the pandemic were carried out with state capital participation (PMN), government investments, and guarantee activities with schemes set by the government. “The government’s policy is the state’s responsibility towards citizens as mandated in the Constitution,” he explained.

He talked about companies that went bankrupt due to the pandemic. Garuda is estimated to accrue a debt equivalent to Rp70 trillion, which should be paid in May 2021. It was suspected that the debt could increase and make it hard for the company to settle the debt.

“This condition requires an effort to save the company by maintaining the balance and unity of the national economy as regulated in Article 33 paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution. This is important so that Garuda can continue to fly,” he stressed.

At the end of the lecture, students enthusiastically asked critical questions related to the protection of constitutional rights during the pandemic and the distribution of development throughout Indonesia. 

Writer        : MMA
Editor        : Nur R.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 11/7/2022 10:35 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.

---