Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo opening the 5th Indonesian Constitutional Court International Symposium (ICCIS), Wednesday, (10/5/2022) at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Bali. Photo by MKRI/Zahra.

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Wednesday, October 5, 2022 | 15:17 WIB

BALI (MKRI)—Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo officially opened the 5th Indonesian Constitutional Court International Symposium (ICCIS), which took on the theme “Constitutional Court and Conflict Resolution,” on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Bali. Representatives from 10 countries, including the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, South Korea, Canada, Hungary, India, Türkiye, and Indonesia attended the event.

Twenty-seven speakers and responders attended the symposium on site and around 300 participants attended online. In the opening session, Justice Suhartoyo revealed that all speakers were experts, academic practitioners, and legal researchers who have been selected and deemed to have met the high standards of selection.

“I hope the discussion throughout this international symposium can run well and bring about fruitful results to help participants understand the issues relevant to the theme of this event. I also hope that it will be useful for brainstorming and creating effective solutions to problems related to the role and authorities of the Constitutional Court in conflict resolution in the community. At the end of the 5th ICCIS, there will be a cultural program to allow participants to enjoy the sceneries and natural beauty of Bali, Indonesia after two full days of discussion,” he said in his opening remarks. Also speaking at the event were Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra, who delivered a keynote speech, and former constitutional justice of 2015–2020 I Dewa Gede Palguna.

Constitutional Court and Resolution of State Conflicts

In his keynote speech, Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra said that the theme “Constitutional Court and Conflict Resolution” aims to examine the role of the constitutional court or similar judicial institutions in resolving various conflicts in many countries. This role can be linked to the Constitutional Court’s authority in interpreting the Constitution to contribute to peace and reconciliation. He added that the extent to which the Constitutional Court can provide protection for human rights and democracy, especially those related to maintaining the principles of free and fair elections, also needs serious attention, more specifically, when the Constitutional Court acts as a mediator in resolving armed and civil-military conflicts.

Justice Saldi asserted that the Constitutional Court has the constitutional authorities to review the constitutionality of laws, to decide disputes over authority between state institutions, to decide the disbandment of political parties, to resolve disputes over election results, and to decide the impeachment of the president and/or vice president. He went on to explain that these authorities have allowed the Constitutional Court to successfully resolve significant or potential conflicts.

To illustrate the Constitutional Court’s authorities, he elaborated on the issue of regional elections (pilkada). In making its rulings, it often makes legal breakthroughs by prioritizing the fulfillment of substantive justice over mere procedural justice. He acknowledged that while not all violations occurred in pilkada could lead to the cancellation of the results, the Constitutional Court could generally annul the election results if it deems there have been structured, systematic, and massive violations.

“Even when it is proven that a violation has occurred in an election, the Constitutional Court will not automatically decide to grant victory to the Petitioner because, in the interest of the wider community and with full prudence, the Court will order a recount of the votes or a re-election in the [polling stations] with such problems,” he said.

Justice Saldi hoped that based on the MKRI’s experience in resolving these conflicts, the 5th ICCIS can become a forum for academic discussions on the dynamics of the judiciary’s roles in resolving various conflicts, not only in Indonesia but also in many countries in the world.

Rules of ICCIS

In addition, Head of the Center for Research, Case Review, and Library Management Kurniasih Panti Rahayu as well as editor of the Constitutional Court’s journal Constitutional Review and expert assistant of constitutional justice Mohamad Aziz revealed some symposium rules that must be observed by all participants. The selected papers will be published on Constitutional Review, which has been indexed by Scopus, to serve as references for the development of the field of law.

The symposium 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 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  : Ahmad Yusuf
Editor        : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 10/6/2022 12:52 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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