Sri Darmanto (Petitioner) accepting the Constitutional Court regulation book from the panel at the preliminary hearing for the material judicial review of Law No. 20 of 2023 on the State Civil Apparatus, Thursday (9/25/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ilham W.M.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held the preliminary hearing for the material judicial review of Article 55 letter a of Law No. 20 of 2023 on the State Civil Apparatus (ASN Law) on Thursday, September 25, 2025. The case No. 165/PUU-XXIII/2025 was filed by Sri Darmanto, aged 55 years and 9 months, head of Gempol District in Cirebon Regency who holds the office of an administrative official.

He appeared before Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Asrul Sani and Ridwan Mansyur without any counsel. He explained that he has the constitutional right to equal opportunities for career development and service to the state as guaranteed by Article 27 paragraph (1), Article 28C paragraph (2), and Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.

He highlighted the provision on the retirement age that differentiate between that of administrative officials and high leadership positions (JPT). Under Article 55 letter a of Law No. 20 of 2023 on State Civil Apparatus, the retirement age of administrative officials is set at 58 years, while for high leadership positions it is 60 years. However, appointments to high leadership positions can only be made up to the age of 56, pursuant to the Regulation of the Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform No. 15 of 2024.

“This provision deprives me of the opportunity to be promoted to JPT despite having met the qualifications, competence, and performance requirements,” he stated. This, he added, is reinforced by the Cirebon Regent’s Circular Letter No. 800.1.6/7222/PPI dated December 20, 2024 on civil servants entering retirement age in 2026.

According to the Petitioner, this disparity harms civil servants as it hinders talent and career development, which should be based on qualifications, competence, performance, and institutional needs.

Therefore, in his petitums, he requested the Court to declare Article 55 letter a of the ASN Law, insofar as it stipulates the retirement age of 58 for administrative officials, in conflict with Article 27 paragraph (1), Article 28C paragraph (2), and Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution. He further requested the Court to declare the same article, insofar as it regulates the retirement age of 58 years for administrative officials, to have no binding legal force. He also asked the Court to equalize the retirement age to 60 years for both administrative officials and high leadership positions.

Justices’ Advice

In response to the petition, the panel of three justices unanimously advised the Petitioner to revise the petition in accordance with Constitutional Court Regulation (PMK) No. 7 of 2025. Constitutional Justice Ridwan Mansyur recommended that the Petitioner study the regulation regarding procedure for judicial review. “There is PMK No. 7 of 2025, please read it again and use it as a reference to make the petition more complete,” he said.

Similarly, Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani advised the Petitioner to model his petition on those that had previously been granted. “The granted [petitions] are complete. That can serve as a reference to meet the formal requirements,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra suggested that the Petitioner refine his legal standing. In addition, he asked the Petitioner to explain the constitutional harm he has suffered.

“Please explain why you believe this provision harms your constitutional rights. What constitutional right of yours is affected? Later, you can refer to the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees equal opportunity in this regard, and cite it. Only then will we be able to assess, ‘Oh, in that case, you indeed have legal standing,’” he explained.

Before adjourning the session, the panel gave the Petitioners 14 days to revise the petition, which must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office no later than Wednesday, October 8.

Author       : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR            : Raisa Ayuditha M.
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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