Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani, representing Indonesia and leading the delegation of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI), attended the J20 Summit, part of the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit 2025, on Thursday (09/04/2025) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo by MKRI.

---

JOHANNESBURG, (MKRI) – Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani called on members of the Forum of Constitutional Courts and Supreme Courts/Judiciary 20 (J20 Summit) to work together and take responsibility in addressing climate change as part of achieving climate justice. Arsul made this statement while representing Indonesia and leading the delegation of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI) at the J20 Summit, held as part of the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit 2025, on Thursday (09/04/2025) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The J20 Summit, taking place from September 2–5 2025, carried the main theme “Justice in a Time of Change: Independence, Innovation and Co-operation.”

Discussions among the presidents and justices of G20 countries, along with representatives of global judicial associations, were divided into four sessions. First, “Advancing Judicial Independence and Accountability: Preserving the Rule of Law and Reinforcing Judicial Security in an Evolving Global Landscape.” Second, “Balancing Artificial Intelligence Innovation with Fundamental Freedoms in Judicial Systems.” Third, “Climate Change Justice through Judicial Collaboration.” And fourth, “Combating Cybercrime: Strengthening Cross-border Judicial Cooperation.”

Arsul, appointed as one of the speakers in the third session, delivered a presentation titled “Climate Change Justice through Judicial Collaboration: An Indonesian Perspective.” In his opening remarks, he noted that Indonesia is among the countries experiencing the impacts of climate change. In addition to rising temperatures, rising sea levels are also among the unavoidable consequences of climate change.

Furthermore, Arsul emphasized that climate change is a global and transnational issue. Therefore, he urged all stakeholders, including judicial institutions, to collaborate and assume responsibility in tackling it. He underscored that climate justice cannot be achieved if the burden is distributed unfairly, particularly as this disproportionately affects vulnerable groups within nations.

“Judicial collaboration is a necessity. This J20 Summit in Johannesburg can serve as a historic milestone in advancing global judicial cooperation to promote climate justice for the benefit of present and future generations,” said Arsul.

MKRI’s involvement in the J20 Summit is expected to have positive effects for Indonesia—particularly its judiciary—in addressing similar constitutional and legal challenges through global dialogue that can be adopted domestically.

The J20 Summit is one of the G20 Engagement Groups, consisting of judicial institutions from G20 member states. South Africa currently holds the G20 Presidency and hosted this year’s J20 Summit, aimed at discussing strategic issues facing judiciaries today and formulating actionable recommendations to improve judicial performance.

Bilateral Meeting with the South African Constitutional Court

Following the J20 Summit, Arsul held a bilateral meeting with Chief Justice of South Africa Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya and Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo. In this special meeting, both parties agreed to strengthen institutional cooperation. One area of collaboration includes the exchange of information and landmark decisions issued by each court.

“Several decisions of the South African Constitutional Court are frequently referenced by academics and litigants in cases before Indonesia’s Constitutional Court. For instance, the Doctors for Life decision on meaningful public participation in the legislative process and the Grootboom decision on the fulfillment of economic and social rights,” Arsul noted in the bilateral meeting.

Responding to this, Chief Justice Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya also expressed interest in establishing a memorandum of understanding between MKRI and the South African Constitutional Court. Discussions on the draft memorandum are planned to be conducted through a virtual meeting between the two institutions.

Institutionally, the South African Constitutional Court has long maintained good relations with MKRI. For example, former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo (2022–2024) attended the International Chief Justice Forum in Jakarta in 2023 and the World Conference on Constitutional Justice in Bali in 2022. Meanwhile, his predecessor, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng (2011–2021), also attended the Indonesian Constitutional Court International Symposium (ICCIS) in Solo in 2017 and the 3rd Congress of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC) in Bali in 2016. Notably, in his capacity as President of the Conference on Constitutional Justice of Africa (CCJA) at the time, Mogoeng signed a memorandum of understanding between the AACC and CCJA, with MKRI serving as the Permanent Secretariat of AACC.

Meeting with the Indonesian Community

In a separate occasion, Arsul Sani also accepted an invitation from the Indonesian Ambassador to South Africa, Saud Purwanto Krisnawan, to meet with the Indonesian community and students in Pretoria and its surroundings. During this gathering, diplomats, community members, and Indonesian students engaged in an interactive dialogue with Arsul Sani.

One student had the opportunity to ask about the role of young people in safeguarding democracy and fostering a sense of national identity, particularly for those studying abroad. In this meeting, Arsul also briefly reminded Indonesians living overseas never to tire of loving their country, regardless of Indonesia’s dynamic circumstances.

Author : Anak Agung Dian Onita.
Editor  : Lulu Anjarsari P.

Translator: Agusweka Poltak Siregar

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 prevails.

---