Constitutional Justice Engin Yildirim delivering a presentation on the Turkish Constitutional Court in the State of Emergency in 2016-2018 at the 5th Indonesian Constitutional Court International Symposium (ICCIS), Wednesday (10/5/2022). Photo by MKRI/Zahra.

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Wednesday, October 5, 2022 | 17:51 WIB

BALI (MKRI)—In the first session of the 5th Indonesian Constitutional Court International Symposium (ICCIS) at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Bali on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, Constitutional Justice Engin Yildirim of the Constitutional Court of Türkiye’s presented a paper entitled “The Turkish Constitutional Court in the State of Emergency Period (2016-2018).” Professor Woo-Young Rhee from Seoul National University’s School of Law, Korea and Luthfi Widagdo Eddyono from the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia also delivered presentations for the session.

In his presentation, Justice Yildirim revealed that the state of emergency that the Constitutional Court of Türkiye experienced in 2016-2018. At that time, the Court had an arduous task as a balancing body of the Government in overcoming threats to the constitutional system and the protection of people’s basic rights, even though its main responsibility was to realize the supremacy of the Constitution and maintaining the order of the Constitution.

“At the time, the Constitutional Court of Türkiye not only protected the citizens’ rights. During the state of emergency, the judiciary had limited power, especially in overseeing the executive. It was actually out of the judiciary’s jurisdiction, but it had to ensure that state authorities act within the constitutional boundaries and under the law,” he said.

Amnesty and International Law

Next, Michail Vagias from the Hague University of the Netherlands delivered a presentation on “Amnesties and Peace Building: A Dialogue of the Deaf between Constitutional and International Courts?”

Vagias talked about the Constitutional Court’s function in providing an interpretation of amnesty with several criteria case-by-case. He revealed peace treaties undertaken to end the civil war in El Salvador, which paved the way to peace. One of the agreements resulted in the establishment of a commission to investigate serious acts of violence that occurred since 1980 and their impact on society. The commission named the parties judged responsible for the civil war.

“However, this legal issue was not resolved since, Salvadorean President Cristiani and his party adopted legislation granting a blanket amnesty to all individuals accused in the Commission’s report of involvement in serious acts of violence in the 1980s. In its missive, the Commission decried the adoption of the amnesty legislation as a possible failure to comply with Salvador’s international obligations under the Peace Agreements and the American Convention on Human Rights,” Vagias added.

Challenges in Solving Past Political Issues

The last speaker on the first day of the symposium was Andy Omara from Gadjah Mada University, who presented a paper on “The Unintended Consequences of the Indonesian Constitutional Court Ruling on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Law.”

Omara said that one of the Constitutional Court’s roles is to carry out constitutional review of laws against the Constitution. In his paper, he talked about the judicial review of Law No. 27 of 2004 on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which the Constitutional Court ruled.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Law aimed to resolve Indonesia’s issue of the G30S/PKI (September 30 Movement in 1965 by the Communist Party of Indonesia). Indonesians suspected of having ties to the Communist Party (PKI) experienced discrimination. As a result, they gained little access in politics and the job market. Judicial reviews were conducted in 2004 and 2006, in which the Petitioners argued that some of the provisions in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Law were unconstitutional. To that end, they requested that the Constitutional Court cancel the provisions.

Furthermore, Omara said that the Constitutional Court took a step by annulling the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Law entirely, thus showing good faith to realize a fair resolution of human rights violations.

“The Court performs judicial review of laws. However, it is important to note the restrictions on (the Constitutional Court), which disallow it from reviewing laws normatively,” he said in response to a question by Miriam Cohen from Université de Montréal, Canada and Rima Yuwana Yustikaningrum from the MKRI.

The 5th ICCIS is a side event of the 5th Congress of the WCCJ and takes place on Wednesday-Thursday, October 5-6, 2022. Through the 5th ICCIS, the MKRI called on all academics, practitioners, and legal researchers to discuss various perspectives in strengthening the Constitutional Court’s roles. Topics discussed during the event were “Constitutional Interpretation Relating to Peace and Reconciliation,” “The Role of Constitutional Courts in Adjudicating Cases Relating to Social and Political Conflicts,” “The protection of Human Rights and Democracy by the Constitutional Courts to Settle Conflicts,” and “Constitutional Courts as Mediators in Armed Conflict and Civil-Military Relations.”

Writer        : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Tiara Agustina
Translator  : Alfhatin Pratama
Editor        : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 10/6/2022 20:24 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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