Senior legal analyst Arinta Sulistyo Eko Prabowo giving a presentation on the Constitutional Court to law students of Pancasila University in the auditorium of the Court’s main building, Wednesday (7/8/2026). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

JAKARTA (MKRI) — Law students of Pancasila University visited the Constitutional Court on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. During the visit, they learned about the importance of establishing the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia from Arinta Sulistyo, known as Tyo, a senior legal analyst at the Constitutional Court.

Tyo explained that the Constitutional Court was officially established on August 13, 2003, following the enactment of Law No. 24 of 2003 on the Constitutional Court. According to him, one of the reasons for the Court’s establishment was the large number of laws deemed problematic, while at that time there was no mechanism for constitutional review.

Nevertheless, Tyo emphasized that the Constitutional Court cannot act on its own if there is a law suspected of conflicting with the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. The Court may only exercise its authority to review a law against the 1945 Constitution if a petition for such a review is filed by a party with legal standing.

“There is nothing the Constitutional Court can do. It all depends on the citizens who file petitions for judicial review of laws with the Constitutional Court,” said Tyo in the auditorium of the Constitutional Court’s main building.

On that occasion, Tyo also addressed the buzz that “the Constitutional Court has legalized LGBTQ.” According to him, this assertion is inaccurate because the Court does not have the authority to legalize or establish new legal norms. In the case in question, the Court actually rejected a petition seeking to expand criminal law provisions so that LGBT acts and adultery could be criminalized.

He explained that the establishment of new criminal laws falls under the authority of the legislatures—namely, the House of Representatives along with the Government—and not under the authority of the Constitutional Court. Therefore, the ruling does not alter the existing provisions, and the provision under review remains in effect as established by the legislatures.

In addition to reviewing laws against the 1945 Constitution, Tyo explained, the Constitutional Court has the authority to rule on disputes regarding the powers of state institutions whose authority is granted by the 1945 Constitution, to rule on the dissolution of political parties, and to rule on disputes regarding the results of general elections—including legislative elections, presidential elections, and regional head elections.

In addition, the Constitutional Court is also obligated to issue a ruling on the House of Representatives’ (DPR) opinion regarding alleged violations by the president and/or vice president, as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution. Such violations, as referred to in Article 7A of the 1945 Constitution, include treason, corruption, bribery, other criminal offenses, conduct unbecoming of office, and/or no longer meeting the qualifications to serve as president and/or vice president.

“So, impeachment is not initiated by students or citizens, but by the House of Representatives. Even then, it must be approved by at least two-thirds of the members of the House present at a plenary session attended by at least two-thirds of the total membership of the House,” he explained.

Author              : Mimi Kartika
Editor               : Tiara Agustina
Translator          : Shane L. Sineri/YW

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.