Students of Citizenship Education program of IKIP Veteran University of Semarang visiting the Court as part of practical field work, Tuesday (7/4/2023). Photo by Humas MK/Ilham W.M.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) welcomed students of Citizenship Education (PKn) study program of IKIP Veteran (Ivet) University of Semarang, who visited the Court as part of their practical field work, on Tuesday, July 4, 2023.

Expert assistant to constitutional justice Erlina M.C. Sinaga said the basic idea of judicial review of laws against the constitution had existed long before the Constitutional Court of Indonesia was established. It began with the Supreme Court of the United States’ revocation of a law governing the appointment of supreme court justices in Marbury v. Madison. The U.S. Supreme Court had also reviewed a law imposing taxes on railroad cargo against the U.S. Constitution. In 1902, she explained, the Constitutional Court of Austria became the first judicial institution to review laws against the constitution.

The idea of establishing a constitutional court already emerged since the beginning of Indonesia’s independence. A member of the BPUPKI (Investigating Committee for Preparatory Works for Independence), Mohamad Yamin, proposed the establishment of a supreme court authorized to review laws against the constitution. However, the proposal was rejected by Supomo on the grounds that at that time Indonesia adhered to the division of powers, not the separation of powers.

After the Reform Movement in 1998, in the amendment of the 1945 Constitution, there was a proposal to establish a constitutional court with the authority to review laws against the Constitution, to decide authority disputes between state institutions whose authority is mentioned in the Constitution, to decide on the dissolution of political parties, and to decide disputes over general election results. The Court is also obligated to decide the opinion of the House of Representatives (DPR) if the president and/or vice president is guilty of violating the law according to the Constitution.

Erlina revealed that, once, a teacher filed a petition against the State Budget (APBN) Law relating to the education budget. Although the petition was rejected, the Court in its decision held that the APBN Law was unconstitutional if the education budget was not in accordance with what had been determined in the Constitution, which was 20%.

Next, Erlina talked about the COVID-19 pandemic, which boosted the legal process at the Constitutional Court with online case registration. Online application registration makes it easier for the public to submit petitions. In addition, the public can also watch hearings online through the Court’s YouTube channel.

Erlina further explained that students and the public can access the Court’s decisions shortly after they are pronounced. The decisions, hearing schedule, and information about the case can be accessed on the Constitutional Court website.

During the Q&A session, a student asked about the composition of constitutional justices. Erlina explained that out of the nine constitutional justices, three were proposed by the House, three by the President, and three by the Supreme Court. This is symbolic of the three branches of state power. 

Author       : Ilham W.M.
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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