Chief Justice Suhartoyo (center) and Secretary-General Heru Setiawan (left) delivering a public lecture at the Faculty of Sharia and Law of UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Friday (7/25/2025).

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YOGYAKARTA (MKRI) — The Faculty of Sharia and Law of UIN (State Islamic University) Sunan Kalijaga of Yogyakarta held another public lecture in collaboration with the Constitutional Court (MK) under the theme “The Constitutional Court and the Protection of Citizens’ Constitutional Rights.” It took place on Friday, July 25, 2025 at the Technoclass Room. Students and members of the faculty’s Student Activity Organization (LKM).

As a keynote speaker at the event, Chief Justice Suhartoyo explained the role of the Constitutional Court as an organ of judicial power, as well as the challenges it faces in safeguarding the constitutional rights of citizens through its decisions. He also emphasized the importance of student participation in supporting the Court in overseeing the constitutional adjudication process—highlighting, for instance, the successful judicial review petition filed by several students from the Faculty of Sharia and Law against Article 222 of the Election Law on the presidential threshold.

The session was moderated by Nurul Jihan Khairunnisa, a student of the Faculty of Sharia and Law, and concluded with an interactive question-and-answer segment divided into two sessions. Many participants took the opportunity to directly pose questions to the chief justice, particularly concerning constitutional issues related to the role and function of the Constitutional Court in upholding the Constitution and protecting citizens’ constitutional rights.

This event was intended to enhance the faculty’s students’ understanding of the Constitutional Court’s role and function in safeguarding and enforcing the constitutional rights of citizens. It also aimed to inspire students to contribute actively in supporting the constitutional adjudication process alongside the Court.

Also in attendance was rector Noorhaidi Hasan, who spoke about the contributions of UIN students in helping to uphold the Constitution. He expressed appreciation for the event and expressed hope that the faculty would continue to collaborate with the Court in the future.

Meanwhile, the faculty’s dean Ali Shadiqin addressed the potential and contributions of the faculty’s alumni and students in working alongside the Constitutional Court to ensure the enforcement of constitutional rights. He encouraged students to continue their contributions through various avenues and pathways available to them in order to support the process of constitutional adjudication in Indonesia.

Earlier in the program, Secretary-General Heru Setiawan delivered welcoming remarks in which he elaborated on the Court’s vision and mission to uphold the Constitution through an independent judiciary, while strengthening the quality of its decisions and promoting constitutional awareness among both state actors and citizens. He also noted that one of the constitutional rights of citizens is the right to communicate and access information in order to develop themselves and their social environment. Accordingly, one of the Court’s current strategic initiatives is to enhance public access to information related to the Court and its functions.

Translator     : Yuniar Widiastuti (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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