Chief Justice Suhartoyo delivering a lecture at an online constitution awareness program for PIKI leaders and members, Wednesday (9/4/2025). Photo by MKRI.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK) Suhartoyo delivered a presentation in the fifth session of the constitution awareness program (PPHKWN) on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, held virtually. His presentation was titled “The Constitutional Court and Procedural Law for Judicial Review of Laws Against the 1945 Constitution.”

In his lecture, Chief Justice Suhartoyo explained that one of the Court’s main authorities is to conduct judicial review of laws against the 1945 Constitution. He stressed that judicial review may be carried out in two forms: formal review and material review.

“The formal review concerns the legislative process. If the procedures for drafting a law conflict with the 1945 Constitution, that law may be annulled in its entirety,” he explained, adding that formal review petitions can only be filed within 45 days after a law is enacted.

Meanwhile, the material review relates to the substance of a law, such as articles or clauses deemed to infringe upon citizens’ constitutional rights. Unlike formal review, material review is not bound by time limits, meaning even decades-old laws remain subject to review.

Chief Justice Suhartoyo also underlined that judicial review petitions may be filed by individual Indonesian citizens, groups with shared interests, indigenous law communities, private or public legal entities, as well as state institutions. This provision is set out in Article 51 of the Constitutional Court Law.

Furthermore, he emphasized that Constitutional Court rulings in judicial review cases are erga omnes, meaning they bind all parties, not only the petitioners. “This is because the issue at stake concerns legal norms that apply to all citizens,” he said.

Concluding the session, Chief Justice Suhartoyo reminded participants of the importance of drafting petitions in a clear and simple manner, so they can be easily understood by both justices and the public. This is crucial since every judicial review petition is published on the Court’s official website for public access.

Author       : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Jessica Rivena Meilania/YW

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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