Petitioner Christophorus Harno at the preliminary hearing of the judicial review of Article 34 of Law No. 30 of 2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission, Monday (7/10/2023). Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Indonesian Anticorruption Community (MAKI), represented by Boyamin bin Saiman, and advocate Christophorus Harno, challenge Article 34 of Law No. 30 of 2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK Law) before the Constitutional Court (MK). The preliminary hearing for case No. 68/PUU-XXI/2023 took place on Monday, July 10, 2023 in the plenary courtroom.

Before Constitutional Justices Manahan M. P. Sitompul (chair), Wahiduddin Adams, and Arief Hidayat, bin Saiman said that the Court had interpreted Article 34 of the KPK Law (“The Commissioners of the KPK shall hold office for a term of 4 (four) years, and may be reappointed for one term.”) in Decision No. 112/PUU-XX/2022. The KPK commissioners now hold office for a term of five years and can be reappointed for one more term. The Petitioners believe this to be against Article 27 paragraph (1) and Article 28D of the 1945 Constitution since it is retroactive and Petitioner II has been kept from joining the selection for KPK commissioners. They believe the norm should not be retroactive and the KPK commissioners’ tenure should be different from that of the executive and legislative in order to maintain the KPK’s independence. “We would like this norm to apply to the future,” bin Saiman said virtually from Mecca.

Therefore, in the petitum, the Petitioners request that the Court declare Article 34 of Law No. 30 of 2002 on the KPK in conjunction with the Constitutional Court Decision No. 112/PUU-XX/2022 unconstitutional and not legally binding if not interpreted as “The commissioners of the Corruption Eradication Commission shall hold office for a term of 5 (five) years, and this applies for the next term (2023 – 2028).”

Justices’ Advice

In response, Constitutional Justice Wahiduddin Adams advised the Petitioners relating to the brief petition—only 3 pages. He expected that they elaborate the Petitioners’ legal standing following statutory laws, the background of the petition that mentions the Constitutional Court decision in relation to their constitutional impairment, and the touchstones of the petition.

“So that the unconstitutionality of the norms petitioned will be clear. This must be explained, not only by mentioning that Indonesia is a rule of law, but also explaining the impairment due to the KPK commissioners’ tenure that is presumed to have harmed the Petitioners’ constitutional rights. In addition, the Petitioners need to make the petitum better,” he said.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat commented that the Petitioners should observe the format of the petition based on the latest Constitutional Court Regulation (PMK) and the Court’s procedural law. Next, Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul said the petition was too short and had not represent the norms petitioned. He also said that these norms had been petitioned and ruled by the Court, with the interpretation that the KPK commissioners shall hold office for a term of five years. He expected the Petitioners to elaborate their legal standing following the Court’s past decisions on these norms. “This is important so that [the case] does not lose its object. Also mention that Article 34 of the KPK Law has been interpreted by the Constitutional Court in Decision No. 112/PUU-XX/2022,” he said.

He also requested that Petitioner I refer to the organization’s statute/bylaws whether it can be represented by only one leader. He also asked Petitioner II to elaborate his constitutional impairment due to the extension of the KPK commissioners’ tenure so it would be clear that he would not be able to join the selection for KPK commissioners.

Before adjourning the session, Justice Manahan informed the Petitioners that they had 14 workdays to revise the petition following the Court’s procedural law. They were to submit the revised petition by Monday, July 24 at 10:00 WIB to the Registrar’s Office.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR            : Tiara Agustina
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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