The twentieth Meeting of the WCCJ Bureau, Saturday (3/11/2023) in Scuola Grande, San Giovanni Evangelista, Venice, Italy. Photo by MKRI.

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Sunday, March 12, 2023 | 09:32 WIB

VENICE (MKRI) — The fifth congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ) in Nusa Dua, Bali in October 2022 was not only important for the judiciary, but also for the executive and legislative, said Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh on behalf of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI) at the twentieth WCCJ Bureau Meeting in Scuola Grande, San Giovanni Evangelista, Venice, Italy. The Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC), the Association of the Constitutional Courts of French-Speaking Countries (ACCF), the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of the Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CJCPLP), the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa (CCJA), the Conference of European Constitutional Courts (CECC), the Ibero-American Conference of Constitutional Justice (CIJC), and the Union of the Arab Constitutional Councils and Courts (UACCC) also attended the meeting.

Among the agendas of the meeting were report on the fifth congress in Bali on October 4-7, 2022; the proposed amendment to the WCCJ statute; and the proposal of the hosting of the sixth congress.

During the meeting, Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh reported on the implementation of the fifth congress. He first thanked Schnutz Dürr, Secretary of the WCCJ and Secretary-General of the Venice Commission, for his immense help with the fifth congress.

“I would like to report that the fifth congress of the WCCJ on ‘'Constitutional Justice and Peace’ ran smoothly. The fifth congress was officially opened by the President of the Republic of Indonesia and attended by several officials of the Indonesian parliament. This shows that the congress was an important event that was important not only for the judiciary, but also for the executive and legislative,” he said.

He added that the congress was the first hybrid (on site and virtual) congress for the WCCJ, with 94 constitutional courts and equivalent institutions and 583 attendees, making it the WCCJ congress with the highest number of attendees. It culminated in the Bali Communiqué, which affirmed the member states’ commitment to upholding principles of democracy, law supremacy, and human rights, especially in order to maintain peace and world order.

He also thanked all members of the WCCJ Bureau who accepted the MKRI’s proposal of Constitutional Supremacy Index to measure the progress and development of constitutional compliance in line with the principles of constitutionalism.  He also offered to share the experience of hosting the congress to the next hosts. At the meeting, the MKRI played a short video showcasing the fifth congress.

In turn, Schnutz Dürr thanked the MKRI for the success of the fifth congress. He revealed that many attendees expressed their satisfaction of the quality of the congress. He also welcomed the MKRI’s offer to share experience on hosting the congress.

Also read:

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Amendment to Statute

Aside from the report, Justice Foekh also talked about issues discussed in the meeting. On amendment to Articles 4 and 6 of the statute on the dismissal of member, proposed by the Constitutional Court of Lithuania, he said that the MKRI believed the statute was already sufficient to form the basis for cooperation and dialogue among members. He also encouraged all attendees to remember the thirteenth meeting of the bureau in 2018, where the theme “Constitutional Justice and Peace” was first proposed.

“At the time, we were all enthusiastic to talk about the important role of [constitutional jurisdictions] in realizing peace and providing solutions to conflicts. Therefore, Indonesia believes that conflicts can only be resolved by building a bridge of communication amidst differences. I believe that is the role of the WCCJ,” he said.

The attendees agreed by acclamation to approve the Constitutional Court of Spain’s proposal to host the sixth congress in 2025.

Author       : Ghoffar
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 3/13/2023 10:23 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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