Arifin Purwanto, the Petitioner, conveying the subject matter at the panel preliminary hearing of the material judicial review of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Land Transportation (LLAJ), Wednesday (5/10/2023). Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held a preliminary hearing of the judicial review of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Land Transportation Law (LLAJ Law) on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. The case No. 42/PUU-XXI/2023 was filed by Arifin Purwanto, an advocate.

The Petitioner challenges Article 85 paragraph (2) of the LLAJ Law, which reads, “Driving License shall apply for 5 (five) years and be extendible.”

The Petitioner said at the hearing in person that every five years he had to extend his driving license, which he argued was unfavorable for him.

“Every time I extend my driving license, for example last year, I would get a driving license. Then five years later, I extend it a second time. The license number would be different, Your Honor. There is no legal certainty and if the deadline is passed, everything must be started from scratched and processed. This, of course, is in contrast with [resident ID card or KTP]. [A new] KTP will be produced at once,” he said before the panel chaired by Constitutional Justice M. Guntur Hamzah.

In the petition, the Petitioner alleged the five-year expiration period for driving license had no legal basis and no clear parameter based on review. He added that he felt disadvantaged by the cost and time for the extension process.

The LLAJ Law mandates every driver of motorized vehicles to have a driving license. The theoretical and practice tests for obtaining it are surely not easy. The test results only notify test-takers whether they have passed or failed the tests, but do not show the answers for the questions. In addition, the Petitioner alleged, the materials for these tests do not have clear legal bases and do not show any review from competent institutions. This, he argued, is in violation of Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.

Prior to taking the tests, there are usually training. However, for driving license tests, there has never been any theoretical and practice training on LLAJ by competent institutions. Therefore, many test-takers did not pass the tests. The lack of clear legal bases is often exploited by certain parties, such as touts.

Based on those arguments, the Petitioner requested that the Court grant the petition and declare Article 85 paragraph (2) of the LLAJ Law unconstitutional and not legally binding as long as the phrase “shall apply for 5 (five) years and be extendible” not be interpreted as “shall apply for life.”

Justices’ Advice

In response, Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul asked the Petitioner to review the Constitutional Court Regulation (PMK) as guidelines to draft the petition. “PMK No. 2 of 2021 shows the format that must be followed: first, profile; then the Court’s authority; the Petitioner’s legal standing; the subject matter; then the petitum,” he said.

Next, Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih also asked the Petitioner to observe past petitions. “Read [past] petitions [and] decisions. Maybe you have, judging from the [petition]. Please do so more comprehensively,” she added.

She also asked the Petitioner to elaborate the arguments against the article being petitioned.

Before adjourning the session, Constitutional Justice M. Guntur Hamzah announced that the Petitioner had 14 days to revise the petition and to submit the revised petition by Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 13:30 WIB. 

Author       : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Andhini S. F.
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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