Petitioner Fahri Bachmid (third from left) at the preliminary hearing of the judicial review of the Constitutional Court Law, Thursday (8/24/2023). Photo by MKRI/Fauzan.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The minimum age of 55 years for prospective constitutional justices as stipulated in Article 15 paragraph (2) letter d of Law No. 7 of 2020 on the Third Amendment to Law No. 24 of 2003 on the Constitutional Court has been petitioned to the Constitutional Court (MK). Fahri Bachmid, law lecturer at the Muslim University of Indonesia, Makassar, filed the case No. 81/PUU-XXI/2023. The preliminary hearing took place on Thursday, August 24, 2023, with Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Manahan M. P. Sitompul and M. Guntur Hamzah presiding.

Article 15 paragraph (2) letter d of the Constitutional Court Law reads, “In order to be appointed a constitutional justice, in addition to meeting the requirements as referred to in paragraph (1), a constitutional justice nominee shall meet the following requirements: is 55 (fifty-five) years old at the minimum.”

Legal counsel Agustiar said that the change to the minimum age of prospective constitutional justices has obviously and clearly led to legal uncertainty for the Petitioner, who would have to wait for longer to apply for the selection of constitutional justices. This constitutional right is guaranteed by Article 28D paragraph (1) and Article 1 paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution.

“In Law No. 7 of 2020, there [has been] a change from 55 to 60 years of age. This change has led to legal uncertainty for the Petitioner. So, the Petitioner has met the requirements to file the petition because there has been specific and actual constitutional impairment and, thus, he has the legal standing to file the petition,” Agustiar asserted alongside the Petitioner and other legal counsels at the panel courtroom.

Therefore, the Petitioner requested that the Court declare the phrase “is 55 (fifty-five) years old at the minimum” in Article 15 paragraph (2) letter d of the Constitutional Court Law unconstitutional and not legally binding if interpreted otherwise is explicitly stated in the a quo norm.

Justices’ Advice

Constitutional Justice Manahan M. P. Sitompul said that to prove the Petitioner’s legal standing and constitutional impairment, there must be proof that the minimum age of 55 years old is being changed to 60 in the Constitutional Court bill prepared by the House of Representatives (DPR).

“Is there a proof? It can strengthen the argument in the posita and the legal standing. The age [limit] is an open legal policy, so there must be a philosophical and sociological bases for it,” he said.

Next, Constitutional Justice M. Guntur Hamzah said that in 2023, the Petitioner is still 46 years old, so there must be an argument to support his legal standing relating to the age limit that has disadvantaged him.

“[With] Law No. 7 of 2020, [the age limit] was changed from 47 to 55, and it will be 60. Please provide official information on these changes. So, it takes an argument to qualify in the past and at present,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra said that the Petitioner’s statement in the case was a criticism for the Constitutional Court on the change to the age limit of constitutional justice nominees, especially the reason for the choice of 55 years. “Numbers are hard to formulate. This has also happened in a petition on the age limit of Constitutional Court registrars,” he said.

Before adjourning the session, Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra announced that the Petitioner had 14 workdays to revise the petition and submit it to the Registrar’s Office no later than Wednesday, September 6 at 09:00 WIB. The Registrar’s Office would then set a schedule for the next hearing.

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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