The ruling hearing for the judicial review of Law No. 14 of 2013 on the Amendment to Law No. 56 of 2008 on the Formation of Tambrauw Regency in West Papua Province, Tuesday (1/31/2023). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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Tuesday, January 31, 2023 | 17:54 WIB

JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) rejected the entire judicial review petition of Law No. 14 of 2013 on the Amendment to Law No. 56 of 2008 on the Formation of Tambrauw Regency in West Papua Province. The ruling hearing for Decision No. 115/PUU-XX/2022 took place in the plenary courtroom on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. The petition was filed by Manokwari regent and vice regent Hermus Indou and Edi Budoyo and the chairman and first and second deputy chairmen of Manokwari DPRD (Regional Legislative Council), Yustus Dowansiba, Norman Tambunan, and Bons Sanz Rumbruren. They believed Article 3 paragraph (1) and Article 5 paragraph (1) of the Tambrauw Law were against Article 18B paragraphs (1) and (2), Article 28D paragraph (1), Article 28I paragraph (3), and Article 28I paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution.

Reading out the Court’s legal considerations, Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra said that the territorial division of Tambrauw Regency in the Tambrauw Law through the Constitutional Court Decision No. 127/PUU-VII/2009 had been amended to include five more districts: Amberbaken, Kebar, Senopi, and Mubrani of Manokwari Regenct and Moraid of Sorong Regency. This served to ensure legal certainty, administrative orderliness, and governance effectiveness in the regional administration of Sorong, Manokwari, and Tambrauw Regencies through the enactment of the Tambrauw Law as the amendment to Law No. 56 of 2008. As such, Tambrauw Regency’s territory comprises eleven districts: Fef, Miyah, Yembun, Kwoor, Sausapor, Abun, Ambarbaken, Kebar, Senopi, Mubrani, and  Moraid.

The regency’s borders are regulated in Article 3 paragraph (1) and Article 5 paragraph (1) of the Tambrauw Law, which the Constitutional Court had ruled in Decisions No. 105/PUU-XII/2013 and No. 11/PUU-XVIII/2019. Therefore, following the legal considerations in those decisions, the issue is the House of Representatives’ (DPR) jurisdiction, including the regency’s territorial division and borders.

“Based on these legal considerations, the Petitioners’ argument on the territory of Tambrauw Regency that does not include Amberbaken, Kebar, Senopi, and Mubrani Districts and the adjustment to its border as referred to in Article 3 paragraph (1) and Article 5 paragraph (1) of the Tambrauw Law, which [the believed] had led to legal uncertainty and did not respect the rights of the traditional community as per Article 18B paragraph (1) and paragraph (2), Article 28D paragraph (1), and Article 28I paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution, was legally baseless in its entirety,” Justice Saldi stressed before Chief Justice Anwar Usman and the other constitutional justices.

Also read:

Manokwari Regent Requests Four Tambrauw Districts Be Returned

Manokwari DPRD Leaders Join Petition against Tambrauw Law

The Petitioners argued that Tambrauw Law transferred Amberbaken, Kebar, Senopi, and Mubrani Districts from Manokwari Regency to Tambrauw Regency, which they alleged had restricted the aspirations of Meyah and Mpoor ethnic groups as owners of the customary land who live in those four districts, while they don’t share common ethnicity, language, culture, and customs with people in the other six districts: Fet, Sausafor, Kwoor, Abun, Yembun, and Miyah.

The Petitioners requested that the Court order the president and the House of Representatives (DPR) to delay the discussion and ratification of the bill on the formation of Southwest Papua Province until the Court ruled on this petition.

Writer        : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Muhammad Halim
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 2/2/2023 15:25 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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