Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh giving a public lecture to sociology students of the University of Palangka Raya, Friday (9/22/2023). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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PALANGKA RAYA (MKRI) — Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh delivered a public lecture on “Emergency State and the Constitution: Navigating Potential Conflicts in the 2024 Election” at the Rahan Rectorate Hall, 2nd Floor, University of Palangka Raya (UPR), Central Kalimantan Province on Friday, 22 September, 2023. The lecture was organized by the Sociology Student Association of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) of UPR. UPR Rector of 2018-2022 Andrie Ellia and head of the Sub-Directorate of Politics, Intelligence, and Security of the Central Kalimantan Police Yoyo Roswandi also delivered presentations. The event was officially opened by the vice rector for academic affairs Natalina Asi.

In her opening remarks, Natalina mentioned that UPR had 19.000 students and all of them are first-time voters. They contribute their votes to determining the nation’s leaders for the next five years.

“We hope that our students can be smart and wise voters in deciding their choices. I am interested in today’s topic because it is possible that in every democratic festival we will face the worst situation, including conflicts among the contestants who will compete in the election,” she said.

Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh in his presentation said that as a constitutional justice, he welcomes every invitation from universities, which have always been strategic partners of the Constitutional Court, to disseminate constitutionalism and the Constitutional Court’s decisions. This, he said, is important because the Constitutional Court’s decisions are final and binding.

“So, usually universities become partners in disseminating the Constitutional Court’s decisions,” he said alongside moderator Yorgen Kaharap, secretary of the UPR Sociology Department.

Justice Foekh said that universities are friends in guarding the Constitution and the rule of law. In fact, he said, the public lecture was also in line with the Constitutional Court’s mission to improve the citizens’ constitutional awareness.

Government Regulations in Lieu of Laws

Furthermore, Justice Foekh explained the emergency constitutional law and the government regulation in lieu of law (perppu). Emergency constitutional laws also relates to terms such as state of emergency, public emergency, state of exception, state of tension, etat de siege, martial law, estado de excepcion, military regime, state of danger, and compelling crisis situation.

In the concept of emergency constitutional law, Justice Foekh explained, the perppu can be issued under the following conditions: the highest interests of the state; the regulation must be absolute or very necessary; temporary as long as the situation is still an emergency, and after that normal provisions are required and emergency provisions no longer apply; and when the emergency regulation is made, the House of Representatives (DPR) cannot hold a session and must be in recess.

A perppu is a legislation stipulated by the president in the event of a compelling crisis situation. It is a type of law in Indonesia as set forth in Article 7 of Law No. 12 of 2011 on Lawmaking (P3 Law). However, Justice Foekh said, in use and practice, the issuance of a perppu is not always in an emergency.

He added that to ratify a law in an ordinary situation, the House either express approval or disapproval of the ratification of a law. Meanwhile, in an emergency, the state of “danger” in Article 12 of the 1945 Constitution and “compelling crisis situation” in Article 22 are often equated in relation to the issuance of a perppu by the President.

To provide the students with a better understanding, he explained that the perppu should be equalized with emergency laws. However, it has become part of legislation, so must be carried out just as regular laws are.

He added that there are basic principles in the concept of emergency constitutional law: proclamation, legality, communication, temporality, threat privilege, proportionality, intangibility, and supervision.

General and Local Election Dispute Settlement

Next, Justice Foekh explained the provisions the Constitutional Court apply in the general and regional election results disputes (PHPU and PHP Kada). One of them is regarding the deadline of the settlement.

A PHPU petition on the president and vice president can be submitted in 3 days and it will take 14 workdays to be resolved in the Constitutional Court. PHPU petition on legislative members can be submitted in 3x24 hours and will be resolved by the Court in 30 workdays. Meanwhile, a PHP Kada petition can be submitted in 3 days and will be resolved by the Court in 45 workdays.

Justice Foekh also emphasized that the Constitutional Court was preparing to face PHPU and PHP Kada in 2024 by providing the institution with several things: the Constitutional Court Regulation (PMK) related to the procedural law of PHPU and PHP Kada, various trainings to increase the capacity of human resources who will be in charge during the PHPU and PHP Kada, and preparing a series of workshops for general and regional election participants including advocates. All these are aimed to improve the understanding of procedural law during the disputes in the Constitutional Court. Finally, the Court continues to develop and improve its information technology (IT) support to make it more accessible for justice seekers.

Author       : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Nur R.
Translator  : Tahlitha Laela/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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