Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Retno Marsudi giving her remarks virtually to mark the first session of the 5th Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ), Wednesday, (10/5/2022) at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Bali. Photo by MKRI.

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Wednesday, October 5, 2022 | 10:59 WIB

BALI (MKRI)—Constitutional courts play a significant role in ensuring adherence to the rule of law, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi while delivering her remarks virtually to mark the opening of the first session of the 5th World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ) at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC), Bali on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.

"Constitutional courts also play a crucial part in ensuring countries in assuming obligation and duties under international law, which can further help in observing international legal obligations, which in turn helps shape countries’ peaceful behaviour and nurture the paradigm of collaboration,” the Minister said. 

She went on to say that Indonesia views constitutional justice as a key element in achieving global peace, equality, and justice. These values are reflected in the 1945 Constitution and serve as a fundamental guiding principle for Indonesia’s foreign policy.

“Therefore, today’s congress is crucial, especially as we are at the very fragile state of the world. War amongst nations and widening distrust is the current reality. International law is neglected. Food, energy, climate, and financial crisis all happening simultaneously,” she said.

Retno further said that the protection of human rights and safeguarding a functioning democracy are a precondition for peace and social justice. The pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to these preconditions, including to established democracies. This follows a trend of democratic backsliding for 16 consecutive years as mentioned by the 2022 Freedom House report.

"The global pandemic has also raised questions about the balance between protecting human rights and saving human lives. Undoubtedly, there is a connection between democracy, the protection of human rights, and the realization of peace and justice,” she added.

During the 77th UN General Assembly last September, Retno offered a new paradigm as a transformative solution. The new paradigm is a win-win paradigm, not a zero-sum paradigm; a paradigm of relationship-building, not a deterrence one; and a paradigm of collaboration, not of competition. This paradigm begins with upholding respect to international law, particularly basic principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. This paradigm will ensure that disputes will be resolved at a negotiating table, rather than on a battlefield. “With this new paradigm, we will also achieve a strong recovery for all and no one will be left behind,” she remarked.

Fifth Congress of WCCJ

The 5th Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ), which takes place on October 5–6, 2022 will be inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on October 5. The Bureau of the WCCJ adopts “Constitutional Justice and Peace” as the main theme of this congress. This is because the constitutional jurisdictions in some countries also play a significant role in seeking peace after armed conflicts in the country. In addition, several national constitutions explicitly mention peace and reconciliation as the goals that they want to achieve.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI) has a member of the WCCJ since 2013. However, it was only in August 2017, during the 4th Congress of the WCCJ in Lithuania that it officially volunteered to host the 5th Congress in Indonesia. In 2019, with the help of cooperative relations and international communication with a number of constitutional judicial bodies in various countries, it confirmed its preparedness to host the congress. It has been a long journey for the MKRI to gain trust to host it.

The 5th Congress of the WCCJ is the highest-level international forum on the constitutional jurisdictions, considering that 119 countries are members of the WCCJ as per 2022. In addition to being a forum for discussion, exchange of ideas, sharing of experiences and best practices among WCCJ members, this Congress is one of the MKRI’s efforts to improve the quality of its decisions as well as an opportunity to further strengthen Indonesia’s position as a constitutional democracy based on the ideology of the five precepts of Pancasila.

At the same time, the Constitutional Court also holds the 5th Indonesian Constitutional Court International Symposium (ICCIS) on October 5-7, 2022 under the theme of “Constitutional Court and Conflict Resolution.” Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo is slated to deliver the opening remarks, followed by a keynote lecture from Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra. In the ICCIS, 15 speakers from various countries are scheduled to present their perspective and views related to the themes. Accordingly, the ICCIS will conclude with a closing remarks by Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic Pancastaki Foekh.

Writer        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Alfhatin Pratama, Ahmad Yusuf
Editor        : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 10/5/2022 20:06 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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