The Petitioners and their legal counsel presented the principal arguments of the petition for judicial review of Law Number 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers, on Monday (01/26/2026) in the Constitutional Court’s panel courtroom. Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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JAKARTA, (MKRI) – The Constitutional Court held a Preliminary Examination hearing for Petition Number 24/PUU-XXIV/2026 concerning the judicial review of Law Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers, on Monday (01/26/2026). The petition was filed by I Ketut Astawa and Reytman Aruan, two permanent lecturers at the Faculty of Law of Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang.

The Petitioners are challenging the constitutionality of Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law, which states, “The Government shall provide functional allowances as referred to in Article 52 paragraph (1) to lecturers appointed by the Government.” According to the Petitioners, the provision does not clearly regulate the standards, principles, and benchmarks for granting lecturers’ functional allowances, thereby potentially creating legal uncertainty.

During the hearing chaired by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat, the Petitioners—represented by their legal counsel Erdin Tahir—stated that, as individual Indonesian citizens, they believe their constitutional rights have been impaired by the enforcement of Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law. The provision is considered to fail to provide recognition, guarantees, protection, and fair legal certainty as guaranteed under Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD 1945), as well as the right to a prosperous life as stipulated in Article 28H paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD 1945).

The Petitioners argued that Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law does not explicitly mandate further regulatory arrangements regarding functional allowances. However, in practice, the government issued Presidential Regulation Number 65 of 2007 on Lecturer Allowances, which sets the amount of functional allowances at Rp1,350,000 for professors, approximately Rp900,000 for associate professors, Rp700,000 for lecturers, and Rp375,000 for assistant lecturers.

According to the Petitioners, this condition demonstrates that the amount of lecturers’ functional allowances depends entirely on government policy. “This proves that Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law does not provide an adequate constitutional mandate to guarantee the fulfillment of the Petitioners’ welfare rights in a fair and sustainable manner,” the Petitioners’ legal counsel stated.

The Petitioners also argued that the issue does not merely stem from the Presidential Regulation but from the absence of principles, standards, and benchmarks of welfare within the norm of Article 54 paragraph (1). As a result, the government possesses full discretion to determine the amount of allowances without considering the evolving standards of a decent living and lecturers’ workloads. This condition is considered detrimental to civil servant lecturers, particularly those holding the functional position of lecturer, as they do not obtain fair legal certainty regarding the fulfillment of their welfare rights.

Furthermore, the Petitioners questioned the aspect of fairness for lecturers who are required to fulfill various requirements as stipulated in Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Regulation Number 52 of 2025 on the Profession, Career, and Income of Lecturers, while the standards and benchmarks for functional allowances have not been clearly regulated in the law.

Based on these arguments, in their petitum the Petitioners requested the Court to declare Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law contrary to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD 1945) and conditionally unconstitutional insofar as it is not interpreted to mean: “The Government shall provide functional allowances as referred to in Article 52 paragraph (1) to lecturers appointed by the Government, which shall be granted in an amount equivalent to one (1) time the basic salary of lecturers at the same level, years of service, and qualifications.”

Responding to the petition, Constitutional Justice Anwar Usman noted that the provision of salaries or allowances for teachers and lecturers already has a basis through Presidential Regulation Number 65 of 2007. Therefore, he questioned whether the issue is appropriate to be submitted to the Constitutional Court or whether it should instead be pursued through another judicial mechanism.

At the end of the hearing, the Panel of Constitutional Justices granted the Petitioners 14 days to revise their petition. The revised petition must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office of the Court no later than Monday, February 9, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. WIB.

Explore the Case: Number 24/PUU-XXIV/2026.

Author             : Utami Argawati

Editor              : N. Rosi

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.

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