Chief Justice Anwar Usman opening a special plenary session for the Constitutional Court annual report of 2022, Wednesday (5/24/2023). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA, (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held a special plenary session for its Annual Report of 2022 on “Arranging the Constitutional Democratic System” on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 in its plenary courtroom. Alongside the other eight constitutional justices and before guests who attended the session virtually, Chief Justice Anwar Usman gave a speech on the report.

President Joko Widodo gave his remarks online and expressed the Government’s appreciation for the Court’s hard work in enforcing the Constitution, which is key to legal certainty, the enforcement of human rights and the citizens’ constitutional rights. However, he admitted that the Government had not always seen eye-to-eye with the Court relating to the Court’s decisions, but that the Government always strived to accept and implement everything that the Court ordered.

He said that several years ahead would be important political years for Indonesia. So, he hoped that the Court can make sufficient preparations to handle the upcoming general and regional election dispute cases.

“This simultaneous election will be proof of the quality of Indonesia’s democracy and a channel for selecting good leaders in order to realize the state goals and a better future,” the president said.

Court’s Achievements

In his remarks, Chief Justice Anwar Usman said that the Court had performed its duties to the best of its abilities for the entirety of 2022. It handled 146 cases, consisting of 143 judicial review cases and 3 regional head election dispute cases throughout 2022. It also ruled over 124 judicial review cases, 4 regional election dispute cases, and 1 regional election dispute case from the previous year. At the end of the year, 19 cases were still being examined.

“Out of 124 cases in 2022, several decisions received a lot of public attention, including those on presidential threshold, which the Court declared constitutional, differentiation of factual verification of political parties contesting in the 2024 election, and the use of cannabis for medical purposes, which the Court believes requires more research and study,” the chief justice said.

Chief Justice Anwar Usman also said that the Court’s budgets had been implemented following statutory laws and regulations. He also said that the Court strove to keep its integrity through internal supervision and control of gratuity in order to maintain the staff members’ and the institution’s integrity. Meanwhile, the Registrar’s Office and the Secretariat-General had contributed to the Court’s bureaucratic reform by developing a Corruption-Free Zone (WBK) and Clean and Serving Bureaucracy Zone (WBBM). It also developed a talent management system in order to seek, manage, and develop human resources to fulfill the Court’s needs.

“For its performance and achievements, the Court received awards from various institutions and agencies, such as one from the Venice Commission for its success in hosting the fifth World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ), a BKN Award for Special Mention Pilot Project SIASN, budget report with unqualified (WTP) opinion, a Public Information Openness Award of 2022 in the ‘informative’ public institution category from the Central Information Commission (KIP), and other awards. Aside from receiving awards, the Court also give away awards to its partners, especially mass media and journalists as well as administrators of video conference facilities,” he said.

At the end of his remarks, Justice Anwar said that in 2023, the Court focuses on hosting activities such as workshops on procedural laws, workshops on general and judicial administration for staff members, improvement of ICT infrastructure and facilities, and building preparation for case resolution.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
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 version, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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