Legal counsels Wahyu Wagiman (second from left) and colleagues conveying the revisions to the judicial review petition of the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Terrorism, Tuesday (10/3/2023). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held another material judicial review hearing of Article 43L paragraph (4) of Law No. 5 of 2018 on the Amendment to Law No. 15 of 2003 on the Stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1 of 2022 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Terrorism into Law (Anti-Terrorism Law) for case No. 103/PUU-XXI/2023 by Peria Ronald Pidu, Mulyadi Taufik Hidayat, and Febri Bagus Kuncoro (Petitioners I-III). Through legal counsel Wahyu Wagiman, they conveyed the revisions to the petition, such as adjustment to the petition format, revision to the elaboration of the Court’s authority based on the Constitutional Court Regulation (PMK) No. 2 of 2021.

“We have also affirmed [the Petitioners’] legal standing and constitutional impairment following the petition requirements. Next, the background of the petition has been elaborated relating to the touchstones—Article 27 paragraph (1) and Article 28I paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution. We have also explained the position of the 1945 Constitution and adjusted the petitum,” Wahyu explained at the panel hearing presided over by Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat, Suhartoyo, and Enny Nurbaningsih.

Also read: Provision on Application of Compensation for Terrorism Victims Challenged

At the preliminary hearing, the Petitioners asserted that the article had taken away the victims’ right to rehabilitation. The Petitioners are survivors of terrorism acts that had occurred before the Anti-Terrorism Law entered into force. They have not received any compensation or financial aid while victims of terrorism acts are eligible for it if they file a petition to the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) by submitting a letter that validates them as victims of criminal acts of terrorism issued by the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT).

The filing of such a petition is limited to three years since the Law entered into force, i.e. June 22, 2018. Any petition filed after this deadline cannot result in compensation. This impacts the LPSK and the BNPT’s time frame for providing information to victims all across Indonesia.

In 2020, the LPSK distributed compensation amounting to a total of Rp39,205,000,000 to 215 victims of criminal acts of terrorism. In 2021 and 2022, it gave 357 victims compensation with a total Rp59,720,000,000. However, not all victims have received compensation. The short time limit has led to injustice for the victims. In addition, disproportionate information to terrorism victims across Indonesia means that not all victims have received compensation for the rehabilitation. This provision regulating time limit to file a petition for compensation is against the spirit of legal protection for victims. Therefore, in their petitum, the Petitioners requested that the Court declare Article 43L paragraph (4) of the Anti-Terrorism Law unconstitutional and not legally binding.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
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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