The undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Faculty of Law, Mahasaraswati University, Denpasar were welcomed by expert assistant to constitutional justice Paulus Rudy Calvin Sinaga Wednesday (9/4/2024). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) - A number of Law Faculty students from Mahasaraswati University, Denpasar visited the Constitutional Court (MK) on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. The undergraduate and postgraduate students were welcomed by the Expert Assistant of the Constitutional Justice Paulus Rudy Calvin Sinaga in the Delegation Room, the Constitutional Court Building, in two sessions. Through a presentation entitled "Enforcing Constitutional Supremacy and Democracy in Indonesia", Paul invited the students to first understand the idea of ​​constitutional justice in Indonesia.

Paulus said that in the early days of independence, precisely during Guided Democracy in 1945-1965, a national figure named M. Yamin once proposed the establishment of Balai Agung that was given the authority to test laws. However, this proposal was rejected because it was considered contrary to the supremacy of the House Representatives (MPR). Then in the following period, the Association of Legal Scholars proposed that the Supreme Court at that time be given the authority to test laws. It was only after the reformation, in the implementation of the Supremacy of the Constitution which means that sovereignty is in the hands of the people and is implemented according to the constitution, that the Constitutional Court was born as the embodiment of the concept of the Pancasila as the rule of law in Indonesia in 2003.

In the activity which was also attended by the Dean of FH Unmas Kt. Sukewati Lanang P. Perbawa, Paulus further explained that in the Constitutional Court Decision No. 113/PUU-XXI/2023 it was stated that "The Pancasila ensures that the legal system works in accordance with the noble ethical and moral values ​​of the Indonesian nation contained in Pancasila as the philosophical basis and ideology of the state."

"Simply, the Indonesian legal state is not controlled by a group of people/groups or is authoritarian yet is democratic. Therefore, an institution is needed to maintain the existence of a constitution that contains the goals of a democratic state. Including the authority which was recently completed by the Constitutional Court. In resolving the 2024 Election case, all Court's personnel were deployed to help justice seekers resolve election cases," explained Paulus.

Students as Applicants

Next, in the discussion with the undergraduate and master's candidates for law, Paulus deepened how the implementation of the Constitutional Court's authority in resolving cases of judicial review of laws was carried out. Several PUU cases that had been decided and requested by the students were mentioned. For example, Constitutional Court Decision No. 70/PUU-XXII/2024 which submitted a material review of Law 10/2016 concerning the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors against the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, Constitutional Court Decision Number 52/PUU-XXII/2024 which argued for a material review of Law 10/2016 concerning the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors against the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

"So in this judicial review, fellow students present today can also submit a petition and become Petitioner if they experience or potentially experience a violation of their constitutional rights due to the enactment of a legal norm that is not in line with the constitution," explained Paulus.

During the presentations, Paulus invited students to ask questions and objections regarding the authority of the Constitutional Court and a few cases related to the constitutional rights of citizens. After the discussion, the students were invited to visit the diorama of the history of the Indonesian constitution in the Constitutional History Center Room of the Constitutional Court. (*)

 

Author            : Sri Pujianti
Editor             : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator      : Sherly Octaviana Sari (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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