Petitioners Christian Adrianus Sihite and Idon Setiawan delivering the withdrawal of their petition on the judicial review of Law No. 2 of 2002 on the Indonesian National Police (Police Law), Wednesday (16/7). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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Jakarta (MKRI) – Christian Adrianus Sihite, Idon Setiawan, and Yondi Jonathan Hasibuan attended the judicial review hearing of Article 18 paragraph (1) and the Elucidation of Article 18 paragraph (1) of Law No. 2 of 2002 on the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia (Police Law) in the Constitutional Court. The second hearing of Case No. 101/PUU-XXIII/2025 was presided over by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, accompanied by Justice Ridwan Mansyur and Justice Arsul Sani on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. The hearing was initially scheduled to hear the subject matter of the revised petition; however, the petitioners withdrew the petition through a letter dated July 14, 2025.

“We have submitted a request letter on Monday, July 14, 2025,” Idon Setiawan, representing the petitioners, stated.

Based on the letter, Deputy Chief Justice Saldi directly confirmed the petitioners. “Subsequently, the withdrawal request will be reported to the Justices’ Deliberation Meeting, and it will decide on the withdrawal. We thank the petitioners for attending this hearing. Thus, the hearing for Case No. 101/PUU-XXIII/2025 has been concluded. The session is closed,” Deputy Chief Justice Saldi concluded the hearing.

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Phrase ‘According to Their Own Judgment’ in Police Law Challenged Again

In the preliminary hearing on Thursday, July 3, 2025, the Petitioners stated that Article 18 paragraph (1) of the Police Law contradicts Article 1 paragraph (3) and Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution. They argued that as law enforcement officials, the authority vested in the Police must serve the public interest and the Police’s institutional functions. Therefore, they have a vested interest in ensuring that the power of police officers remains subject to oversight, including the imposition of limits on the duties and authority of individual police officers who act based on their own judgment.

However, they argued, the legal norm in Article 18 paragraph (1) and its elucidation creates legal uncertainty regarding what constitutes an act taken “according to their own judgment” by a police officer. This uncertainty, in their view, undermines legal oversight over police officers. Without clear limits on their duties, a police officer could abuse their authority, using their own assessment as a pretext under the guise of serving the public interest.

Accordingly, in their petitums, the Petitioners requested that the Court declare Article 18 paragraph (1) of the Police Law unconstitutional and without binding legal force. The Petitioners request that the Court declare the Elucidation to Article 18 paragraph (1) of Law No. 2 of 2002 on the Indonesian National Police, which reads, ‘What is meant by “may act according to their own judgment” refers to acts that may be carried out by members of the Indonesian National Police, who in doing so must consider the benefits and risks of their actions and purely in the public interest,’ is unconstitutional and has no binding legal force.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR            : Andhini Sayu Fauzia
Translator  : Rizky Kurnia Chaesario/Yuniar Widiastuti

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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