Expert assistant to constitutional justice, Abdul Basid Fuadi, welcoming students from Unida Gontor, Tuesday (10/22/2024). Photo by MKRI/Fauzan.

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JAKARTA, Public Relations of the MKRI – A total of 38 female students and 2 supervisors from the Faculty of Sharia, Darussalam University (Unida Gontor) visited the Court (MK) on Tuesday (10/22/2024). The visit was warmly welcomed by the expert assistant to constitutional justice, Abdul Basid Fuadi, in the Hall of Building 1 of the Court. Fuad, as he is familiarly known, delivered presentation entitled "Constitutional Court Towards a Modern and Trusted Judiciary." He began by explaining the history of constitutional judiciary in the world, which began with the United States Supreme Court in 1796 through the practice of judicial review.

In his presentation, Fuad explained that the establishment of the Indonesian Constitutional Court was driven by various problems in the constitutional system, especially the weak mechanism for reviewing laws (constitutional review). Before the Constitutional Court existed, many laws were considered problematic, but no institution had the authority to review their validity. He also highlighted that the process of impeaching the President was carried out only for political reasons, without reasonable legal consideration. Conflicts between state institutions are also often resolved under the authority of the President through various administrative mechanisms, which obscure the independence between institutions.

"Especially during the New Order era, if there was a dispute between state institutions, the President, Pak Harto, usually summoned directly, then the problem could be resolved," said Fuad.

Furthermore, Fuad explained that before the the Court was established, there was no clear forum for resolving disputes over election results, which often triggered prolonged conflicts. The dissolution of political parties (parpol) is also carried out through the Supreme Court (MA) using procedures that are considered not transparent. With the presence of the Constitutional Court, it is hoped that these problems can be resolved through legal mechanisms that are clearer and based on the constitution.

Fuad also discussed the differences between human rights (HAM) and constitutional rights. "Human rights are rights inherent in every individual as a creature of God which must be respected, upheld and protected by the state, law, government and everyone in order to maintain human dignity," he said.

Meanwhile, constitutional rights are rights guaranteed by the constitution of each country. In Indonesia, citizens' constitutional rights are protected by the 1945 Constitution, such as the right to equality before the law (Article 27 paragraph 1) and the right to live and defend life (Article 28A).

Fuad also explained the parties who have the right to submit judicial review to the Court. According to Article 51 paragraph (1) of the Constitutional Court Law, petitioners are those who feel that their constitutional rights or authority have been harmed by the applicable law.

"These parties can be individual Indonesian citizens, customary law community units, public or private legal entities, as well as state institutions",  he explained. He emphasized the importance of this understanding so that the public knows who has the right to submit a petition for judicial review of the law at the Constitutional Court.

The purpose of this visit is to produce legal consultants, advocates, teachers and other professionals related to law enforcement in Indonesia. Students are expected to be able to broaden their horizons by seeing legal practice at the Constitutional Court firsthand, after studying theory in class. The meeting ended with a question and answer session. Next, students were invited to tour the Constitutional History Center (Puskon) which is located on the 5th and 6th Floors of the Court’s building. Puskon presents the history of the constitution in Indonesia and the history of the establishment of the Constitutional Court in Indonesia with an interesting and modern appearance.

 

Author         : Fauzan F.
Editor          : N. Rosi
Translator     : Donny Yuniarto (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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