Counsel Viktor Santoso Tandiasa (center) reading out the subject matter at the judicial review hearing of the Constitutional Court Law and the Prosecution Law, Wednesday (5/10/2023). Photo by Humas MK/Panji.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held another judicial review hearing of the Elucidation to Article 10 paragraph (1) letter a and Article 47 of Law No. 8 of 2011 on the Second Amendment to Law No. 24 of 2003 on the Constitutional Court Law as amended by Law No. 7 of 2020 on the Constitutional Court as well as Article 40A of Law No. 11 of 2021 on the Prosecution Office on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. It was presided over by Constitutional Justices Enny Nurbaningsih, Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh, and Constitutional Justice M. Guntur Hamzah.

At the petition revision hearing for case No. 37/PUU-XXI/2023, legal counsel Viktor Santoso Tandiasa conveyed the revisions to the petition, such as the addition of one petitioner, Eko Kuntadi from the Yogyakarta Prosecution Office, to the seven prosecutors at the Attorney General’s Office—Zulhadi Savitri Noor, Wilmar Ambarita, I Wayan Danan Aryantha, Made Putriningsih, Mangatur Hutauruk, and Zairida. Thus, there are now eight petitioners.

Tandiasa also said that a table, which details the Petitioners’ birth dates, had been added. From the information, the Petitioners’ direct, actual constitutional impairment is clear. He also said that the Petitioners had added a provisional petition on the interpretation of articles being petitioned, details on 25 prosecutors who were forced into retirement after an interlocutory decision, so there are three batches of the implementation of the provisions on the limitation of retirement age.

“We sent a letter to the Attorney General’s Office, but we have not received data for 147 prosecutors, where 25 were returned to duty and the rest were not. Therefore, we collected data by ourselves and 57 prosecutors who had been honorably dismissed before the Prosecution Law was enacted filled in a Google form [for us],” he added.

Also read: Prosecutors Question Transitional Period of Enactment of Retirement Age

At the preliminary hearing on Thursday, April 13, through counsel Viktor Santoso Tandiasa, the Petitioners asserted that the Constitutional Court in Decision No. 70/PUU-XX/2022 had interpreted Article 40A of the Prosecution Law as having discriminated against prosecutors who were dismissed before a certain interlocutory decision and a final decision. The interlocutory decision, Tandiasa said, mentioned that the retirement age as regulated in Article 12 letter c of the Prosecution Law would be in force five years since the decision was pronounced.

Article 40A of the Prosecution Law reads, “At the time this Law comes into force, the dismissal of Prosecutors aged 60 (sixty) years or more shall continue to comply with the provisions on the retirement age limit as stipulated in Law Number 16 of 2004 concerning Public Prosecution of the Republic of Indonesia (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia of 2004 Number 67, Supplement to the State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia Number 4401).”

He further said that for prosecutors who turned 60 when/after the decision was pronounced shall follow Article 12 letter c of the Prosecution Law, or be honorably discharged at 60 years old. This marked a difference with the retirement age of prosecutors who turned 60 before the decision was pronounced, which is 62 years.

The provisions shall be in force five years since Decision No. 70/PUU-XX/2022 was pronounced, or December 20, 2027. Meanwhile, the retirement age remains at 62 years until December 19, 2927. In practice, the retirement age is also counted since the Court’s interlocutory Decision No. 70/PUU-XX/2022 was pronounced on October 11, 2022. Therefore, following Circular Letter (SE) No. 1 of 2023 after the decision, prosecutors who have turned 60 who retired and whose employment rights were borne based on the interlocutory Decision No. 70/PUU-XX/2022 shall retire at 62 years. Consequently, due to the delay of retirement, their employment rights must be returned following statutory laws and regulations. 

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Muhammad Halim
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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