Lucky Permana, the Petitioner, delivering the revised petition arguments to the panel of justices, Thursday (5/8/2025) in the panel courtroom of the Constitutional Court. Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Former civil servant of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Lucky Permana, as the Petitioner in Case No. 36/PUU-XXIII/2025, submitted a revised petition for the judicial review of Article 52 paragraph (3) point i and paragraph (4) insofar as it refers to “point i” of Law No. 20 of 2023 on State Civil Apparatus (ASN Law). The revision addressed the constitutional provision used as the legal benchmark.

“The Petitioner focuses on the notion of fairness, which is more comprehensively covered under Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, rather than paragraph (2), as it also contains the aspect of legal certainty,” Lucky explained during the petition revision hearing on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

He argued that the enforcement of the challenged provisions had harmed his constitutional rights following his dishonorable dismissal from BPS. Article 52 paragraph (3) point i of the ASN Law states that a civil servant may be dismissed not at their request if convicted by a final and binding court decision for a criminal offense related to their duties. Paragraph (4) classifies such dismissals under point i as dishonorable.

Lucky was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and fined Rp250 million, with an additional six months’ imprisonment if unpaid. The ruling found him guilty of negligence as a Commitment-Making Officer (PPK) in managing a goods procurement project. The court noted he had failed to inspect the project site, was unaware the work had been subcontracted, and caused financial loss to the state.

Following the verdict, BPS issued a dismissal decree on April 29, 2019, citing a violation of the ASN Law concerning criminal convictions.

According to the Petitioner, the dismissal was carried out without any individualized assessment of factors such as work history, competence, dedication, potential for rehabilitation, years of service, or the actual degree of fault. In his view, Article 52 paragraph (3) point i provides no room for such consideration, nor for administrative rehabilitation, even after one has served their sentence, thus permanently barring a return to public service.

He also referred to the “Ban the Box” policy in the United States, which prohibits public and private employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal record at the early stages of recruitment. Under this policy, employers must consider the nature and seriousness of the offense, the time elapsed since conviction or sentence completion, and the relevance to the job in question.

Also read: Former BPS Civil Servant Challenges ASN Law on Dismissal of Convicted Civil Servants
 

In his petitum, the Petitioner requested that Article 52 paragraph (3) point i and paragraph (4) of the ASN Law be declared unconstitutional and not legally binding unless interpreted to mean that dishonorable dismissal may only be imposed after an individualized assessment and administrative rehabilitation for civil servants who have completed their sentence.

Author: Mimi Kartika
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR: Fauzan Febriyan
Translator: Yuanna Sisilia

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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