Bivitri Susanti speaking at a Constitution Webinar on “The Constitutional Court as Catalyst for Law Reforms: Evaluation and Challenges,” Friday (10/18/2024). Photo by MKRI.

---

JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) in collaboration with the Faculty of Law of Gorontalo State University (FH UNG) organized a Constitutional Webinar titled "The Constitutional Court as a Catalyst for Legal Reform: Evaluation and Challenges" on Friday, October 18, 2024. The speaker for this webinar was Bivitri Susanti, a lecturer at the Jentera Law School Indonesia (Sekolah Tinggi Hukum Indonesia Jentera).

In the webinar, moderated by Ahmad, a Constitutional Law lecturer at UNG, Bivitri emphasized that the Court should not overstep its authority and take over powers that rightfully belong to democratic institutions. "If we look at its function, we need to restore the role of each institution in the power division between the executive, legislative, and judiciary," she said. She highlighted the importance of maximizing public participation, particularly in the legislative process between the DPR (Indonesian Parliament) and the President, to ensure that democracy thrives and public spaces are optimally utilized.

"Although we want MK to function better and play a maximal role, the debates often don’t prioritize populist arguments. They are often confined to legal academics, like those of us present in this forum. As a result, public participation remains limited," she continued.

Bivitri explained that the public can only directly participate by submitting amicus curiae briefs or by becoming a related party. However, not everyone has the capacity to do so. This is in contrast to decision-making on certain issues, which lie with the legislative body and the president, where public involvement can be broader and more inclusive.

"In my view, the Court should be stricter in using the principle of open legal policy as the focal point," Bivitri explained.

Regarding the ruling on age limits, Bivitri stated that the Court should not decide on this matter. Referring to the decision on the age limit for regional head candidates in Decision Number 70/PUU-XXII/2024, the Court rejected the applicant's request, noting that the law clearly states that the age limit is calculated at the time of registration, not at the time of inauguration.

"I believe this was the right decision because the issue of age should be determined by lawmakers, not by the Court. Usually, the Court does not decide on matters related to candidacy requirements, including age," she emphasized.

Bivitri also stressed the importance of the Court and other institutions holding discussions like this. Many other universities have also hosted similar discussions with the primary goal of uncovering and correcting mistakes. She hopes that more forums like this will be held in the future, aiming to address issues in greater depth, ensuring that legal discussions are not dominated by political narratives but are grounded in more substantial and in-depth studies.

For your information, the 2024 Constitutional Webinar series is part of the effort to enhance the culture of constitutional awareness. This webinar series runs from July to December 2024. The first session was hosted by the Faculty of Law at Pancasakti University in Tegal, Central Java, and the final webinar will be organized by the Faculty of Law at Sebelas Maret University.

Author         : Utami Argawati
Editor          : N. Rosi
Translator     : Agusweka Poltak Siregar (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.

---