Legal counsel Singgih Tomi Gumilang conveying the petition’s subject matter at the judicial review of Law No. 11 of 2021 on Prosecution, Thursday (2/23/2023). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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Thursday, February 23, 2023  21:37 WIB

JAKARTA (MKRI) — Hartono, a notary public, challenges Article 30C letter h of Law No. 11 of 2021 on the Amendment to Law No. 16 of 2004 on the Prosecution, and its elucidation. The panel preliminary hearing for case No. 20/PUU-XXI/2023 was presided over by Constitutional Justices Manahan M. P. Sitompul, Wahiduddin Adams, and Arief Hidayat.

Article 30C letter h of the Prosecution Law reads, “In addition to carrying out the duties and authorities referred to in Article 30, Article 30A, and Article 3OB of the Public Prosecutor's Office: h. filed a judicial review petition.”

The elucidation to Article 30C letter h of the Prosecution Law reads, “Judicial review by the Prosecution Office is a form of the Prosecution’s duties and responsibilities representing the state in protecting justice for victims, including for the state, by placing the Prosecution’s authority proportionally in an equal and balanced position [equality of arms principle] with the rights of the convict or his/her heirs to file a Judicial Review petition. The Judicial Review petition submitted by the auditor is coordinated with the Prosecution Office. The prosecutor can carry out a judicial review if in that decision the act that was charged has been proven but not followed by a conviction.”

The Petitioner’s legal counsel Singgih Tomi Gumilang explained the petition’s subject matter at the panel courtroom on Thursday, 23 22, 2023. He revealed a concrete case where the Petitioner had been convicted in a criminal case and declared guilty by the District Court of Gianyar, Bali and sentenced to two years of prison time.

On November 15, 2019, the Petitioner appealed the verdict, after which the High Court of Denpasar exonerated him. This verdict was appealed by the public prosecutor to the Supreme Court on January 21, 2020. The judicial review verdict exonerated him.

“However, the public prosecutor filed another judicial review petition on December 26, 2022. The Petitioner felt his constitutional rights had been harmed due to the absence of legal certainty in this criminal case. The prosecutor’s action refers to Article 30C letter h of the Prosecution Law and its elucidation,” Singgih said.

Justices’ Advice

In response, Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat mentioned the Court’s Decisions No. 33/PUU-XIV/2016 and 16/PUU-VI/2008. He expected the Petitioner to provide comparisons with other countries, where prosecutors represent the state and victims and may file a judicial review petition. “Are the criminal justice systems in other countries, universally, only grant convicts or defendants [the opportunity to file a judicial review petition] or also prosecutors?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Justice Wahiduddin Adams added that the Court does not adjudicate concrete cases, so the Petitioner should connect his impairment and legal standing. The argument that judicial review process was not only experienced by the Petitioner but also others must be supported with more data. The Petitioner also needs to built a legal argument for the alleged legal uncertainty.

Next, Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul stressed that the legal standing must be elaborated so that it would be obvious that the norms had violated the Petitioner’s constitutional rights. Although the Constitutional Court had ruled on cases similar to this, there are still inaccurate implementation of judicial review. “Therefore, the Petitioner needs to explain what the judicial review in question,” he said.

Before adjourning the session, Justice Manahan informed the Petitioner that he had 14 workdays to revise the petition and submit it to the Registrar’s Office no later than Wednesday, March 8 at 13:30 WIB. 

Writer        : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Raisa Ayudhita
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 2/28/2023 09:28 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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