Representatives of the police force at the material judicial review hearing of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Land Transportation (LLAJ), Monday (6/19/2023). Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held another judicial review hearing of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Land Transportation Law (LLAJ Law) on Monday, June 19, 2023 in the plenary courtroom. The third hearing for case No. 42/PUU-XXI/2023, filed by Arifin Purwanto, an advocate, had been scheduled to present the House of Representatives’ (DPR) and the President’s testimonies, but both requested a delay.

“The agenda for today’s hearing is to present the House’s and the President’s testimonies. However, both the President’s proxy and the House submitted a request to ask that the hearing be delayed. The House and the President are not prepared to present their testimonies over this petition, so this hearing is postponed until Tuesday, July 4, 2023 at 11:00 WIB to hear the President’s and the House’s testimonies,” said Chief Justice Anwar Usman.

Before adjourning the session, Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra asked the police to serve as a relevant party. Therefore, the police’s testimony would be separate from the president’s testimony.

“Because this (case) concerns the police directly, the police have been requested to be a relevant party. The request letter will be submitted. The president and the police will have different [testimonies],” Justice Saldi emphasized.

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Petitioner Wishes STNKB, TNKB Be Valid Forever 

Petitioner Requests Driving License to Last for Life 

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

At the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, May 10, the Petitioner said that every five years he had to extend his driving license (SIM), 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.

In the petition, the Petitioner alleges the five-year expiration period for driving license had no legal basis and no clear parameter based on review. He also feels 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 alleges, the materials for these tests do not have clear legal bases and do not show any review from competent institutions. This, he argues, is in violation of Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.

Based on those arguments, the Petitioner requests 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.”  

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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