Acting Secretary-General Heru Setiawan at an audience with PPPPK, Wednesday (4/12/2023) at the Court’s second hall. Photo by MKRI/Ilham W. M.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — A number of law practitioners under Perkumpulan Pengacara Pemerhati Peradilan Konstitusi (PPPPK), an association of advocates who observe the constitutional judiciary, visited the Constitutional Court (MK) on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Viktor Santoso Tandiasa, Muhamad Hafidz, Eliadi Hulu, and other advocates were welcomed by Acting Secretary-General Heru Setiawan and Head of the Public Relations and National Affairs Department Fajar Laksono at the Court’s second hall.

Muhammad Hafidz began the audience by revealing that citizens are often confused about filing a judicial review petition to the Court, which he believes requires the Court’s concrete response.

These law practitioners had discussed ease of access to people seeking justice in the Constitutional Court since 2020. They hoped that the establishment of a posbakum (legal aid center) be restarted with the aim of assisting prospective litigants in drafting petitions for various cases in the Court.

“Out of love for the Constitutional Court, we wish for the establishment of a consulting body or forum for justice seekers. Today we express our wish that justice seekers be able to file petitions ideally to the Court. The posbakums at the district courts, for example, only made the format for filing a case and provide consultation, thus are limited. Why the Constitutional Court? There will be public trust if it is established by the Court. Therefore, we’d like the Court to provide such an instrument to assist justice seekers,” Hafidz said.

Next, Eliadi revealed his first time filing a petition to the Court. Drafting a petition, he said, was no easy task, especially explaining the constitutional impairment.

“When the constitutional rights of people in remote areas, such as Nias, are impaired, they will face challenges in drafting a petition and attending the Court’s hearings, which started with a preliminary hearing. We hope that the Court as the guardian of the Constitution, democracy, and human rights can take further actions through (this posbakum) to assist justice seekers in drafting a petition,” he added.

Access to Justice

Acting Secretary-General Heru Setiawan welcomed the proposal and said that although the PMK (Constitutional Court Regulation) No. 2 of 2021 introduced 13 stages of petition filing, there has not any legal aid for justice seekers.

However, the Court has provided workshops on election results disputes (PHPU) for political parties, advocates, and Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body) and KPU (General Elections Commission). There has not been any such workshop on judicial review cases.

“Through the secretariat-general, the Court has been thinking about ease of access in all of its proceedings. I will report it to the constitutional justices through the deputy chief justice. For the sake of drafting good petitions, a posbakum would be needed, whether by the Court or others. In fact, the Court has collaborated with higher education institutions all across Indonesia to provide 70 facilities. Hopefully they can be part of posbakum in the regions,” he said.

Maintaining Independence

Fajar Laksono said the Court has made efforts to provide ease of access to justice seekers. He added that there must be a study on 510 petitions that the Court declared inadmissible (niet ontvankelijke verklaard). He revealed that the Court has a network such as lecturers under the Association of Constitutional and Administrative Law Lectures of Indonesia (APHTN-HAN), who he believes would be highly credible consultants on the Constitutional Court’s procedure and petition.

“I welcome [this proposal] but this posbakum must be measurable. Why the Court allows non-advocates to litigate? So that everyone can do so. The Court opens the widest possibility, but without advocates, [many] petitions went awry. Of course, the Court has conducted programs such as PPHKWN [(constitution awareness program for citizens)], where the Court make people aware of their constitutional rights,” he said.

The Court also organizes workshops where prospective litigants are assisted in drafting a petition and understanding how to argue their legal standing. “The Court has such programs because its legal targets are extensive. Therefore, this [proposed center] will serve as a complement, but a study on the Court’s relations to advocates is necessary, since the Court has to maintain its independence,” Fajar explained.

Also read: Advocates Propose that Court Establish Legal Aid Center for Community

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Nur R.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

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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