The Petitioner at the petition revision hearing of the judicial review of the State Ministry Law for case No. 128/PUU-XXIII/2025, Monday (8/25/2025). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The material judicial review of Article 23 of Law No. 39 of 2008 on State Ministries continued at the Constitutional Court (MK) on Monday, August 25, 2025 in a panel courtroom. The case No. 128/PUU-XXIII/2025 was filed by Viktor Santoso Tandiasa and Didi Supandi, who requested that prohibition against dual mandate imposed on ministers also be imposed on deputy ministers. The Petitioners submitted the petition because they believe the Government has disobeyed the Constitutional Court’s previous decisions and appointed deputy ministers as commissioners in State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN).

At this petition revision hearing, chaired by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat, Tandiasa said that the petition had been revised following the panel’s advice at the previous hearing. One of the revisions is the substitution of the Constitutional Court Regulation (PMK) No. 2 of 2021 with PMK No. 7 of 2025.

He also said that Didi Supandi had joined him as the other petitioner. “In the list of petitioner, I have added one more citizen as Petitioner II, who is a ride-hailing driver, who […] feels that his right to the guarantee of prosperous life under Article 28H paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution has been hindered, when Article 28I paragraph (4) expressly states that the protection and fulfillment of human rights is the responsibility of the State, especially the Government,” he explained.

He also added several ongoing constitutional cases that shows the Court’s flexibility in assessing the petitioners’ legal standing. This demonstrates that, although strict legal standing requirements exist normatively, the Court has not applied them rigidly or mechanically in practice. Accordingly, the Petitioners expressed hope that in this case, the Court might likewise relax the requirements for their legal standing.

Also read: Double Position Prohibition of Deputy Ministers in SOEs Emphasized

The Petitioners highlighted the prevalence of deputy ministers holding concurrent positions as commissioners in state-owned enterprises. As of today, at least thirty deputy ministers continue to serve as commissioners in such companies. This practice persists despite the Constitutional Court’s ruling in Decision No. 80/PUU-XVII/2019 on August 27, 2020. In that decision, in its legal considerations, the Court clarified the application of Article 23 of Law No. 39 of 2008, explaining that since the appointment and dismissal of deputy ministers are equivalent to those of ministers, deputy ministers must likewise be regarded as officials with the same status as ministers.

“With such a status, all prohibitions on holding concurrent offices that apply to ministers under Article 23 of Law No. 39 of 2008 also apply to deputy ministers. This provision is intended to ensure that deputy ministers focus on their workload, which requires special attention within their respective ministries—indeed, the very reason why the appointment of a deputy minister is deemed necessary in certain ministries. In reviewing the object of review in Decision No. 80, the article reviewed was Article 10 of Law No. 39 of 2008, in which the Petitioner essentially requested that the provisions regulating the existence of deputy ministers be declared unconstitutional,” Tandiasa explained.

Author         : Utami Argawati
Editor          : Nur R.
PR               : Andhini S.F.
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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