Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo giving a keynote speech at the final national law debate competition and national seminar of 2023 Diponegoro Law Fair, Sunday (10/29/2023). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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SEMARANG (MKRI) — Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo gave a keynote speech at the final round of the national law debate competition and national seminar of the 2023 Diponegoro Law Fair at Diponegoro University, Semarang, Central Java Province on Sunday, October 29, 2023. The event was collaboration between the Constitutional Court (MK) and Diponegoro University.

In his speech, Justice Suhartoyo addressed the important issue of the rejuvenation of democratic values in the Pancasila state of law which, in his opinion, is very important in maintaining human rights and citizens’ constitutional rights. “Pancasila, as the foundation of the Indonesian state, contains values such as social justice, belief in the One Supreme God, fair and civilized humanity, unity, and democracy,” he explained.

He also discussed some of the efforts to ensure human rights enforcement. Strengthening democratic institutions including parliament, the judicial system, and oversight bodies should improve their ability to protect human rights. In addition, equality should be realized by ensuring that all citizens, regardless of background, have equal rights.

Public participation is also essential. People’s voices should be heard by encouraging community’s active participation in political and decision-making processes. Human rights education is also important for improving people’s understanding of human rights, citizens’ constitutional rights, and the importance of protecting them.

Justice Suhartoyo emphasized that 2024 will be a crucial political year in Indonesia, with general election as the mechanism for the transition of national leadership. “A democratic election is an important constitutional mandate in realizing a democratic state of law. The citizens’ constitutional rights must be fulfilled in all stages of the election, including selection, nomination, and the voting of candidates who will carry out the mandate of the citizens in governance,” he emphasized.

Political Parties’ Role

Political parties, Justice Suhartoyo said, play a critical role in the selection of people’s representatives. They act as filters in selecting representatives and as a forum for those who want to devote themselves to government. They play a vital role in transforming the public’ needs and interests into policies and regulations issued by governing bodies. To effectively carry out this function, political parties must strengthen their institutional capacity.

Justice Suhartoyo further stated that political parties should also engage in political education, focusing on essential aspects of national identity and governance. By emphasizing the significance of Pancasila as one of the foundational pillars, on par with other pillars, it holds position in the national framework of thinking and governance.

Students’ Role

Justice Suhartoyo also highlighted the role of students as agents of change who can explain the essence of democracy. He reminded that ultimately, political elections are about conscience and personal choice. Despite pros and cons regarding the Court’s decisions, students can play a role in explaining the meaning of political choices to bring positive changes within the democratic system.

“Students, as agents of change, are intellectual individuals who have the ability to explain the essence of democracy. So, whether one likes it or not, agrees or disagrees with the Constitutional Court’s decision, it ultimately comes down to choice,” he said.

“Here’s what it means, in the end, it is a choice based on conscience. Later, you can explain the meaning of a political choice to elect representatives, whether the legislative branch such as the DPR (House of Representatives), DPRD (Regional Legislative Council), or DPD (Regional Representative Council), and the president. That’s the essence of it. So, regardless of agreement and disagreement regarding the Constitutional Court’s decisions, I believe you can explain to yourself and to others, your friends, family, or anyone, that in the end, it doesn’t have to be person A, B, or C,” he said.

In his closing remarks, Justice Suhartoyo advised that in the end, what matters is that every citizen, regardless of political choice, can understand that it is important to maintain and strengthen democracy and human rights in the Pancasila rule of law.

Rejuvenating Pancasila Democracy

In the national seminar, head of the National Law Development Agency (BPHN) Widodo Ekatjahjana explained that the understanding of Pancasila as the nation’s ideology needs to be rejuvenated or renewed in order to adapt to the development of community life and to maintain the nation’s cohesion and social integration, including understanding in democracy and law.

In his presentation, he said that Pancasila democracy encourages governance to be more effective in developing community welfare in areas such as human rights, economy, politics, public services, and law enforcement. The Pancasila legal system is directed to be dimensioned and oriented towards benefit and justice. Benefit as an effort to fulfill welfare and justice as an effort to build social stability. As a result, Pancasila law cannot be separated from the principles of humanity, morality, and conscience.

He believes that Pancasila democracy is the spirit in lawmaking to realize state goals, i.e. fair and civilized welfare.

Improving Understanding

Meanwhile, in his report, Secretary-General Heru Setiawan emphasized that in carrying out its duties and authority, the Constitutional Court consistently fulfills two important aspects. Firstly, exercising judicial power with final and binding decisions that are important for the community. Secondly, it is responsible for promoting the understanding of Pancasila and the Constitution. Recently, Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat emphasized the vital importance of Pancasila as Indonesia’s ideological foundation.

In fulfilling the task of improving understanding, the Constitutional Court considers universities “friends of the Court.” It recognizes their significance for being the tridharma (three pillars), which encompasses research, education, and community service, involving the entire academic community. Hence, it is important to improve understanding when collaborating with universities, which are comprised of students. “Students today have become agents of change and agents of values,” Heru said.

Heru continued by explaining that the Diponegoro Law Fair consisted of two activities: competitions, which have reached the final round today, and seminars. Both share the common objective to bring about results on how to optimize citizens’ constitutional rights in democratic process.

“So, I kindly request the committee to conclude that the two things of the Diponegoro Law Fair, the reason why the Constitutional Court collaborates [with the university], are recorded and summarized to identify important points that can be optimized for constitutional rights within the democratic context, aligned with Pancasila. This should have an impact,” he emphasized.

Winners of 2023 Diponegoro Law Fair

At the closing ceremony of the 2023 Diponegoro Law Fair, the winners of several debate categories were announced. The internal debate contest was won by Muhammad Yamin team (1st place), K.H. Wahid Hasyim team (2nd place), and Soepomo team (3rd place). The best speaker in the debate contest was Ramadani Arosad from the K.H. Wahid Hasyim team. The academic writing competition was won by Gadjah Mada University (1st place), Padjajaran University (2nd place), and Wijaya Kusuma University (3rd place). Lastly, the best paper category was won by Pelita Harapan University.

In addition, the national debate contest was won by the Utoyo Usman team from Airlangga Univresity as the 2nd winner, and the Adrawinata team from Universitas Indonesia as 1st winner. The best speaker was Valentino Rafael.

This event consisted of several competitions attended by participants from several universities. The competitions were a national debate competition, an internal debate competition, a contract drafting and negotiation competition, a national law seminar, and an academic writing competition.

Also read: Indonesia a Democratic, Religious State of Law

Author       : Utami Argawati
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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