The Petitioners and their legal counsel during the Hearing on the Revision of Petition in Case Number 24/PUU-XXIV/2026 concerning the judicial review of Law Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers, Monday (02/09). Photo by MKRI/Bay.
JAKARTA, (MKRI) – The Constitutional Court again held a hearing on the revision of the petition for judicial review of Law Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers (Teachers and Lecturers Law) for Petition Number 24/PUU-XXIV/2026, on Monday (02/09/2026) in the Court’s panel courtroom.
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 on the Revision of Petition chaired by Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih, the Petitioners—represented by Erdin Tahir—stated that the revision was made based on the advice of the Panel of Constitutional Justices. They reformulated the explanation of legal standing by systematically and separately outlining five requirements related to the Petitioners’ constitutional rights or authority. “In essence, the Petitioners have legal standing to file the a quo petition,” Erdin stated.
In addition, in the posita section, the Petitioners divided the discussion into five sub-sections to elaborate the constitutional arguments regarding Article 54 paragraph (1) as the object of the petition. One of the key arguments emphasizes the role of lecturers as primary actors in realizing the state’s objective, namely to educate the life of the nation.
“This can be seen on pages 12 to 16 regarding lecturers as one of the main actors constitutionally in realizing the state’s objective of educating the life of the nation,” Erdin emphasized.
The Petitioners also explained that Article 54 paragraph (1) constitutes an open-ended norm that has not adequately performed its function of limiting governmental power in protecting lecturers’ rights. According to the Petitioners, the provision cannot be separated from the regulatory framework in Articles 51 and 52 of the Teachers and Lecturers Law.
In their revised 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.”
“Declaring Article 54 paragraph (1) of Law Number 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers contrary to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and having no binding legal force conditionally 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 must be based on clear, measurable, rational, and proportional normative standards, and systematically aligned with the lecturer income system as well as the framework governing professional allowances, special allowances, and honorary allowances as stipulated in this law,’” Erdin stated.
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Two Lecturers Challenge Provision on Functional Allowances
In the Preliminary Examination hearing held on Monday (01/26/2026), the Petitioners, as individual Indonesian citizens, argued that their constitutional rights had 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 Rp1.5 million 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 shows 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 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 has full discretion in determining 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.(*)
Author : Utami Argawati
Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR : Raisa Ayuditha M.
Translator : N. Valentino Rahadityo/Agusweka PS
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.
Explore the Case: Number 24/PUU-XXIV/2026.
Monday, February 09, 2026 | 20:24 WIB 58