Expert assistant to constitutional justice Mohammad Mahrus Ali welcoming students of STIS As-Salafiyah Sumber Duko Pamekasan, Wednesday (1/24/2024). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Around forty-five students of As-Salafiyah Sharia Institute of Sumber Duko Pamekasan (STISA Pamekasan) visited the Constitutional Court (MK) on Wednesday, January 24, 2024. Expert assistant to constitutional justice Mohammad Mahrus Ali welcomed them at the hall of the Court’s second building with a presentation on the Constitutional Court, the dimensions of Islamic law, and constitutional democracy.

Ali, often referred to as Cak Ali, said the Constitutional Court was a mandate of the Reform that serves to examine and review laws against the 1945 Constitution. Laws are legal products made by the House of Representatives (DPR) that have political interests that may harm citizens.

“So the reform mandate promoted the establishment of an institution that ensures that the House’s legislative products—laws—do not conflict with the Constitution, because laws have political interests. So, laws have many interests in it, so when they are created, they could potential harm the public,” he added.

He then explained four types of the Court’s authority and one obligation. The authorities include reviewing laws against the 1945 Constitution at the first and last instance with decisions that are final, settling authority disputes between state institutions whose authority is granted by the Constitution, deciding the dissolution of political parties, and settling disputes over general election results. It also has the additional authority to settle disputes over regional election results (pilkada) on the ground that they are part of elections.

Its obligation is to provide a legal opinion related to the House’s allegation of constitutional violations by the president and/or vice president. The violations mentioned and regulated in Article 7A of the 1945 Constitution, that is, violation of the law in the form of treason against the state, corruption, bribery, other criminal acts, or misconduct, and/or no longer qualifying as president and/or vice president as referred to in the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

However, said Ali, the impeachment process is lengthy and not easy. He said that a petition for impeachment should be submitted to the Constitutional Court based on Constitutional Court Regulation (PMK) No. 21 of 2009. Then, the Court will examine, adjudicate, and decide whether the president and/or vice president is proven to have violated the Constitution or not. The Court’s decision is then returned to the House, after which the MPR (People’s Consultative Assembly) can approve it or not. If it is approved, the president is impeached; if it is not approved, the president remains in office.

Ali further explained the composition of constitutional justices, who are selected by three state institutions: the House of Representatives (DPR), the Supreme Court (MA), and the president. Despite that, they are bound by a code of ethics referred to as Sapta Karsa Hutama as well as the conduct of statesmen.

Today, sitting constitutional justices proposed by the Supreme Court are Chief Justice Suhartoyo, Constitutional Justice Anwar Usman, and Constitutional Justice Ridwan Mansyur. Those proposed by the House are Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat, M. Guntur Hamzah, and Arsul Sani. Those proposed by the president are Constitutional Justices Saldi Isra, Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh, and Enny Nurbaningsih. Ali emphasized that all constitutional justices must maintain independence.

He also revealed that the number of cases that the Court had received since 2003 until December 2023 is 3,631. As many as 1,790 are judicial review cases, 1,136 are regional head election results dispute cases, 676 are general election results dispute cases, while 29 are state institution authority dispute cases. The most petitioned is the Election Law, for 42 times.

Ali explained that many of the Court’s decisions relating to Islamic law have been researched in academic papers—undergraduate theses, graduate, theses or doctoral dissertations. For this reason, he suggested that the students also research the Court’s decisions. One of these decisions is Decision No. 46/PUU-VIII/2010 dated February 17, 2012, in which the Court ruled that Article 43 paragraph (1) of Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage was unconstitutional. The Court interpreted that children born outside of marriage only have a civil relationship with their mother and mother’s family as well as with biological father based on scientific proof and/or other evidence according to the law, including a civil relationship with the father’s family. The Court emphasized that even out-of-wedlock children are entitled to legal protection.

“Constitutional Court decisions are not only related to constitutional law, but concern overlapping disciplines and fields. Some are related to Islamic law, politics, economics, health, animal husbandry. They are interesting references for seminars, research, and final assignments,” Ali said.

Closing his presentation, Ali also briefly touched on the Constitutional Court’s in upholding constitutional democracy with decisions that changed the electoral system such as simultaneous elections and elections with an open-list proportional system. He also talked briefly about regulations on disputes over the results of the 2024 legislative and presidential election.

Author       : Mimi Kartika
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
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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