Chief Justice Suhartoyo, alongside Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and Constitutional Justice M. Guntur Hamzah, opening the panel hearing of the judicial review of Law No. 24 of 1956 on the Establishment of the Autonomous Province of Aceh and the Amendment to the Regulation on the Establishment of the Province of North Sumatra, Tuesday (11/18) in the Court’s panel courtroom. Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) convened a preliminary hearing for Case No. 214/PUU-XXIII/2025, a judicial review (JR) of Law No. 24 of 1956 on the Establishment of the Autonomous Province of Aceh and the Amendment to the Regulation on the Establishment of the Province of North Sumatra against the 1945 Constitution (45C) on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. Presiding over the hearing, Chief Justice Suhartoyo announced that the Petitioner was absent and had not provided any notice.

“Since the Petitioner is not present and has given no statement, the petition in Case No. 214/PUU-XXIII/2025 will be reported to the justice deliberation meeting (RPH), and the hearing is adjourned,” Suhartoyo stated in the panel courtroom.

Before closing the session, the Chief Justice instructed court officers to call the Petitioner once more. However, the Petitioner remained absent and offered no confirmation.

According to the petition uploaded on mkri.id, the Petitioner is Mulak Sihotang, a former public transport driver on the Pasar Minggu–Depok route. He filed a judicial review of Law No. 24 of 1956, arguing that the inclusion of four islands, Mangkir Gadang, Mangkir Ketek, Lipan, and Panjang, within Aceh Province is improper. The Petitioner, who identifies himself as an urban and regional spatial planner, challenges the transfer of these islands to Aceh’s administrative territory.

The decision to place the four islands under Aceh Province was made by President Prabowo Subianto, who chaired the online signing of a joint agreement between the governors of North Sumatra and Aceh on June 17, 2025. The Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian and the Minister of State Secretariat Prasetyo Hadi witnessed the agreement. The determination was based on findings from an earlier Ministry of Home Affairs decree affirming that the islands fall under Aceh’s jurisdiction.

The Petitioner contends that President Prabowo’s decision violates Article 28F paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, insisting that the islands should belong to North Sumatra because of their geographical proximity to Central Tapanuli Regency. He also questions the historical ties between Aceh and the islands, which he claims lie approximately 20–40 kilometers from Singkil, Aceh.

In his petitums, the Petitioner requests that, prior to issuing a final ruling, the Court order a temporary suspension of the Ministry of Home Affairs decree representing the implementation of Law No. 24 of 1956 until the Court’s final decision on the merits. He further asks the Court to declare Law No. 24 of 1956 contrary to the 1945 Constitution and not legally binding.

Author: Mimi Kartika
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR: Raisa Ayuditha M.

Translator: Yuanna Sisilia

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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