The prolonged absence of a government decision to declare the Sumatra disaster a national disaster has prompted five lawyers to challenge the Disaster Management Law.

---

JAKARTA, MKRI – Five lawyers have filed a judicial review petition challenging Article 7 paragraphs (2) and (3) of Law Number 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management against the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD NRI 1945). The petition stems from severe flooding and landslides that struck Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, resulting in 1,016 fatalities and approximately 850,000 displaced persons as of 15 December 2025, yet have not been declared a national disaster by the Government.

“The Government has still not designated the disaster in question as a national disaster,” said Petitioner I Doris Manggalang Raja Sagala during the Preliminary Hearing of Case Number 261/PUU-XXIII/2025 on Thursday (8 January 2026) at the Constitutional Court (MK), Jakarta.

In addition to Doris, the other Petitioners are Jonswaris Sinaga (Petitioner II), Robinar V.K. Panggabean (Petitioner III), Amudin Laia (Petitioner IV), and Roy Sitompul (Petitioner V). The Petitioners stated that proposals to classify the floods and landslides in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra as a national disaster had been voiced by nearly all factions in the House of Representatives (DPR), as well as by several regional heads who admitted they no longer had the capacity to manage the disaster impacts in their respective regions.

Instead of designating the floods and landslides in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh as a national disaster, the Government merely labeled them a “national priority.” According to the Petitioners, disaster management law does not recognize the term national priority, as Article 7 of the Disaster Management Law only regulates the determination of national and regional disaster status.

The Government’s use of the term national priority, the Petitioners argued, is more akin to a development project framework and does not focus directly on disaster victims particularly when, to date, more than a thousand lives have been lost and the number may continue to rise.

Article 7 paragraphs (2) and (3) of the Disaster Management Law read as follows:
Paragraph (2):
“The determination of the status and level of national and regional disasters as referred to in paragraph (1) letter c shall include indicators comprising:
a. the number of victims;
b. property losses;
c. damage to infrastructure and facilities;
d. the geographical scope of the affected area; and
e. the resulting socio-economic impacts.”

Paragraph (3):
“Further provisions regarding the determination of disaster status and levels as referred to in paragraph (2) shall be regulated by a Presidential Regulation.”

However, in practice, the indicators referred to in the law have never been regulated through a Presidential Regulation. The Petitioners stated that they had attempted to locate and examine Presidential Decrees that should regulate the indicators used to determine national disaster status—such as the number of fatalities required, the scale of property losses, or the extent of infrastructure damage necessary for a disaster to be classified as national—but found none.

As a result, the Petitioners argued, there exists a legal vacuum (rechtsvacuum) in the implementation of the Disaster Management Law. The absence of clear and detailed rules governing the classification of disasters as national or regional has created legal uncertainty for Indonesian citizens. Therefore, the Petitioners urged the Government to immediately issue legal norms regulating the indicators for determining national and regional disaster status in the form of a Government Regulation, along with its implementing regulations.

The Petitioners further asserted that the provisions under review contradict Article 5 paragraph (2) and Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution. In their petitum, the Petitioners requested the Court to declare Article 7 paragraph (2) of Law Number 24 of 2007 unconstitutional and legally non-binding insofar as it is not interpreted to mean:

“The determination of national disaster status and level as referred to in paragraph (1) letter c must be made by the Government if the number of fatalities resulting from a disaster has reached a minimum of 1,000 (one thousand) persons. The determination of regional disaster status and level at the regency/municipal and provincial levels as referred to in paragraph (1) letter c shall be made by taking into account indicators comprising: a. the number of victims; b. property losses; c. damage to infrastructure and facilities; d. the geographical scope of the affected area; and e. the resulting socio-economic impacts.”

The Petitioners also requested that Article 7 paragraph (3) be interpreted to read:

“Further provisions regarding the determination of disaster status and levels as referred to in paragraph (2) shall be regulated by a Government Regulation.”

The case was heard by a Panel of Constitutional Court Justices chaired by Chief Justice Suhartoyo, with Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and Justice M. Guntur Hamzah as panel members. During the advisory session, Justice Guntur emphasized that the Petitioners must further elaborate on their legal standing, explaining how each Petitioner is individually affected by the challenged provisions.

“That is why you need to elaborate on the standing of each Petitioner based on their respective characteristics—there are many examples,” Guntur said.

Before closing the hearing, Chief Justice Suhartoyo stated that the Petitioners were granted 14 days to revise and improve their petition. The revised application, in both softcopy and hardcopy form, must be submitted to the Court no later than Wednesday, 21 January 2026, at 12:00 p.m. WIB. (*)

 

Author         : Mimi Kartika
Editor          : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR               : Andhini Sayu 
Translator     : SO

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.

 

 

 

---