A total of 190 students and 4 lecturers of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (Untirta) visiting the Constitutional Court and welcomed by expert assistants to constitutional justices, Monday (10/30/2023). Photo by MKRI/Fauzan.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Law students of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (Untirta) visited the Constitutional Court (MK) on Monday, October 30, 2023. The group consisting of 190 students and 4 supervisors were warmly welcomed by expert assistants to constitutional court justices (ASLI) Muhammad Reza Winata and Luthfi Widagdo Eddyono. Due to the large number of participants, they were divided into two groups. Muhammad Reza Winata welcomed some of them in the hall of the Court’s second building while Luthfi Widagdo Eddyono welcomed them at the Constitution History Center (Puskon).

Reza presented a material entitled “The Constitutional Court’s Move towards Modern and Trusted Judiciary.” He explained that constitutional court began with the practice of judicial review in the United States Supreme Court in 1796.

“In Indonesia, during the third amendment to the 1945 Constitution, Article 24C was formulated. It contains provisions on the Constitutional Court. To detail and follow up on the constitutional mandate, the government and the House discussed the Constitutional Court bill. After several discussions, it was finally agreed upon by the government and the House and passed in the House plenary session on August 13, 2003. Because of the importance of protecting and controlling the constitutional rights of citizens, the Constitutional Court was established,” Reza explained.

He also explained other types of authority of the Constitutional Court are to held judicial review of laws against the 1945 Constitution, to decide disputes over authority between state institutions whose authority is granted by the 1945 Constitution, to decide the dissolution of political parties, to decide disputes over election results and most recently, the Constitutional Court has additional authority to decide disputes over regional head election results (of governors, regents, and mayors).

Next, he explained about a principle of the Constitutional Court’s procedural laws, that is, ius curia novit, which means that the Court should not refuse to examine, hear, and decide a case because it knows the law. It also applies the principle of open, public hearings which requires that all Constitutional Court proceedings can be followed by the public, so that justices can act more objectively.

“(The principle of) independence of the judiciary means that the judiciary should not be intervened by any institution or any interest, it should be fast, simple, and free of charge. With these principles, the judicial process in the Constitutional Court can be accessed by all levels of society,” he added.

Next, he explained that the use of technology in the Constitutional Court means submitting judicial review petition can be done online through its website. In addition, it can be done offline by coming to the Court on-site.

“Cases or decisions can also be accessed through the mkri.id website, and hearings can be carried out online if there is distance or cost constraint,” he continued.

On the same occasion, Luthfi also explained that the Constitutional Court, as the guardian of the basic norm of the state, has a role to keep the entire state process in line with the Constitution, including to create a prosperous country. Development carried out by a country must be based on the legal provisions that govern it.

“In that context, the role of the Constitutional Court is to oversee the development process to fulfill and create a prosperous country in line with constitutional norms that become the basic rules of state. However, if there is a process that is not in line with constitutional norms, then the Constitutional Court can align it through its authority in accordance with the constitutional mandate,” he explained.

Luthfi also emphasized that in carrying out its functions and duties, the Constitutional Court always tries its best to produce quality decisions. Students can also play a role and participate in the judicial review of cases in the Constitutional Court.

“Even though you are students, you have a strategic role and can participate in examining the constitutionality of laws,” he continued.

The presentation ended with a question-and-answer session. Next, the students were invited to take a tour of the 5th and 6th floors of the Court’s main building to explore the Constitution History Center.

Author       : Fauzan F.
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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