Expert assistant to constitutional justice Titis Anindyajati speaking at the national young leader training (PKPMN) of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the Constitutional Court, Wednesday (10/4/2023). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — A total of one hundred participants of the national young leader training (PKPMN) of the Ministry of Youth and Sports visited the Court on Wednesday, October 04, 2023. They were welcomed by expert assistant to constitutional justice Titis Anindyajati in the delegation room.

In her presentation, Titis explained the history of the constitutional court, starting with the first one in Austria. “The idea of establishing the Constitutional Court in Indonesia actually came after the concept of judicial review originating in the United States and Austria. It all began with Hans Kelsen, who proposed the idea of establishing a constitutional court as a separate institution from the Supreme Court, giving rise to what is known as the Kelsenian model. Kelsen argued that there should be a separate institution to review the constitutionality of laws, i.e. the Constitutional Court. Thus, the first Constitutional Court in the world was established in Austria in 1920,” she stated.

Furthermore, she discussed the Constitutional Court’s authority and how it carries out its duties and functions as mandated by the Constitution. The Court has the authority to conduct judicial review of laws, to decide authority disputes between state institutions whose authority is granted by the Constitution, to decide the disbandment of political parties, and to decide upon the dissolution of political parties. In addition, it is obligated to pass a decision on the opinion of the House of Representatives (DPR) on alleged violations of the Constitution by the president and/or the vice president as regulated by the law.

“In addition, the Court also has a function to guard the Constitution and democracy, as well as protect the state ideology and human rights. Even now, it also has an additional authority of reviewing government regulations in lieu of laws and adjudicating disputes over regional election results,” she added.

Titis further explained about the constitutional justices. She stated that the justices are nominated by the three branches of government: three justices are proposed by the president (executive), three by the Supreme Court (judiciary), and three by the House (DPR) (legislature). Furthermore, the justices are required to be fair, non-discriminatory, and impartial according to the Constitutional Court Law.

“In this regard, what is meant by fair, non-discriminatory, and impartial is to be independent from the institutions that nominated them. They must be statesmen who do not consider or prioritiz the interests of the institutions who nominated them,” Titis said.

The Constitutional Court is a modern judicial institution whose systems are based on ICT. All employees perform most of their tasks electronically, such as for correspondence to making digital signatures. The Court also has video conference facilities at one university in each of the provinces. 

“[The facility] is used for conducting hearings remotely and cost-effectively. In cases where the hearings are from Papua or distant regions, there is no need to bring witnesses or experts to the Court [on site],” she added.

At the international level, the Court has officially become the president of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC). It is also a member of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ). In addition, it was selected as one of the delegations in the WCCJ in 2017, and in 2022 MKRI hosted the fifth WCCJ congress in Bali. In 2023, the Court hosted the International Chief Justice Forum. Lastly, it also cooperates with universities abroad, including in the United States. 

Author       : B. Panji Erawan
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Najwa Afifah Lukman/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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