The visit of the Gunung Jati Tangerang College of Law (STIH) was warmly welcomed by MK Legal Analyst, Aditya Yuniarti, in the MK Hall of Building 1. Photo by MKRI/Fauzan

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JAKARTA, MKRI – A total of 38 students and 3 lecturers at the Gunung Jati Tangerang College of Law (STIH) visited the Court (MK) as part of lectures for the Constitutional Law Theory and Practice course, on Wednesday (11/13/2024). This visit aims to provide students with direct insight into the hearing process at the Court as well as serving as a reference for the student's thesis. It is hoped that this direct experience will be an important provision in the students' future academic and professional experience.

"This is a different opportunity for face-to-face lectures, considering that previously lectures took place online. It is hoped that this visit can broaden students' insight into constitutional law in Indonesia as an important provision for students' studies and careers", said Rioberto Sidauruk, law lecturer at STIH Gunung Jati.

The visit was warmly welcomed by MK Legal Analyst, Aditya Yuniarti, in the Hall of Building 1 of the MK. Adit in the presentation session explained the reasons for the importance of establishing the Constitutional Court in Indonesia, even though there is already a Supreme Court (MA). “Why is there a need for a Constitutional Court, even though we already have a Supreme Court? "Actually, this is because we are a country of laws, and have many legal products and legislation that should protect the rights of citizens," she said.

According to Adit, there are several problems behind the establishment of the Court, such as laws that are often problematic but there is no mechanism for constitutional review. Apart from that, presidential impeachments in the past could occur solely based on political reasons, conflicts between state institutions often had to be resolved by the president, there was no clear forum for disputes over election results, and the process of dissolving political parties was not transparent at the Supreme Court.

In addition, Aditya explained that the Constitutional Court was the court of first and final level. The Constitutional Court's decision is final and cannot be appealed or submitted to other legal remedies, in fact there are no extraordinary legal remedies. The legal basis is in Article 24C paragraph 1 of the 1945 Constitution, as well as Law Number 24 of 2003 on the Constitutional Court.

Adit continued, the Court applied several important principles in procedural law. One of them is that hearings at the Court are open to the public and free of charge.

Apart from that, the Court applies the principle of audi et alteram partem, which means the justice must hear both parties. Justices are also active in exploring the facts of the hearing and can summon parties other than the petitioner, the DPR or the government to provide relevant information.

Adit also explained several important principles in the Court's procedural law. One of them is ius curia novit, which means the court cannot reject a case, even if the case is not within its jurisdiction. The Court often accepts cases that are not judicial review, and even so, the case is still processed until it is decided by the justice.

Adit also mentioned a time limit for submitting petition for formal review and material review of laws at the Court (MK). "For the formal review, if anybody want to submit a petition to the Court, please pay attention the time period is 45 days from the promulgation," she said, referring to MK Decision Number 63/PUU-XX/2022.

After that, the Court has 60 working days to examine the petition from the time the President and/or DPR provide their statement at the plenary hearing session. This is in accordance with the legal considerations in Constitutional Court Decision Number 25/PUU-XX/2022. Meanwhile, for material review, there is no deadline for submissions or examination periods at the Constitutional Court.

After the presentation, it continued with a discussion and question and answer session. After that, the students were invited to visit the Constitution History Center (Puskon) of the MK on the 5th and 6th floors of Building 1 of the MK. Puskon is an educational media that records the history of the Constitution and the Constitutional Court by combining technology, art, and information. This provides an opportunity for visitors to experience the atmosphere of a constitutional hearing through a virtual simulation.

Author         : Fauzan F.
Editor          : Nur R.
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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