The preliminary hearing for the judicial review of Law No. 2 of 2004 on Industrial Relations Disputes Settlement, Wednesday (8/13/2025). Photo by MKRI.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Domuli Sentudes has filed a material judicial review petition of Article 82 of Law No. 2 of 2004 on Industrial Relations Disputes Settlement (PPHI Law) against Article 28D paragraph (1) and Article 28H paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution to the Constitutional Court (MK). The preliminary hearing for case No. 132/PUU-XXIII/2025, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, took place on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 in a panel courtroom.

Haposan Sahala Raja Sinaga, the Petitioner’s legal counsel, presented the main points of the petition. He stated that the Petitioner, an individual Indonesian citizen, had been laid off by a private company in Jakarta as of October 31, 2023. However, he was unable to file a lawsuit challenging the termination because the statutory time limit of no more than one (1) year from the date of termination had elapsed. As a result, he lost his entitlement to severance pay, long-service award, and/or separation pay as guaranteed under the prevailing labor laws and regulations.

The Petitioner contends that his constitutional right to assurance and legal certainty, as guaranteed under Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, and to special treatment to secure opportunities to achieve justice, as guaranteed under Article 28H paragraph (2), should allow him to file a dispute over termination of employment beyond one year from the announcement of termination.

He believes Article 82 of Law No. 2 of 2004 unduly limits the period for filing a lawsuit over termination of employment to within one (1) year from the date of receipt or notification of the employer’s decision. In practice, this restriction may serve as a serious impediment to the constitutional rights of workers/laborers to obtain substantive justice.

In the petitums, as read aloud by Sinaga, the Petitioner requests that the Court: “Declare Article 82 of Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 2 of 2004 on Industrial Relations Disputes Settlement in conflict with the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, and therefore has no binding legal force from the date of its enactment, without any alternative interpretation whatsoever.”

Legal Standing

Constitutional Justice Ridwan Mansyur advised the Petitioner to elaborate on the harm suffered due to the enforcement of the challenged provision in relation to the constitutional norms guaranteeing his rights under the 1945 Constitution.

“You also referred to previous Constitutional Court decisions; you should review their reasoning concerning legal standing in similar cases. Therefore, more elaboration is needed to ensure that the Petitioner indeed possesses legal standing to file this petition,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani emphasized that the Petitioner should carefully review Constitutional Court Regulation (PMK) No. 2 of 2021, which details the structure of a petition. He further suggested that the Petitioner elaborate on the constitutional harm and the causal link between the harm he suffered and the challenged provision.

“The time limit is, in fact, part of legal certainty. So, this needs to be reconsidered, and you should also review Constitutional Court Decision No. 69/PUU-XIII-2015, which dealt with a similar matter,” he explained.

Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra also advised that the provision in question had already been interpreted by the Court in previous rulings, thereby altering its meaning. “Therefore, you must clarify the causal relationship between the challenged provision and the alleged harm, so that this petition will not be deemed to lack legal standing,” he advised.

At the end of the session, Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra announced that the Petitioner would have 14 days to revise the petition, which must be resubmitted no later than Tuesday, August 26 to the Registrar’s Office. The Court will then schedule the second hearing to hear the revisions to the petition.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR            : Raisa Ayuditha Marsaulina
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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