A public discussion on the revision of the Constitutional Court Law was held on Friday (30/9) at Room III.1.1, Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FH UGM). “Growing public concerns about the Constitutional Court (MK), ranging from the terms of office of Constitutional Court justices to a recruitment process considered insufficiently transparent, provided the background for this discussion,” said Prof. Dr. Enny Nurbaningsih, S.H., LL.M. in her opening remarks.
Prof. Dr. Mahfud MD, S.H., S.U. served as the speaker at the discussion, which was moderated by Dr. Maruarar Siahaan, S.H. In his presentation, Mahfud MD outlined several issues that should be considered as part of the substance of a revised Constitutional Court Law. One of the issues discussed was the regulation of the impeachment or dismissal of the President and Vice President. Article 24C paragraph (1) stipulates that one of the grounds for dismissing the President or Vice President is the commission of a serious criminal offense. This provision has raised questions about which institution has the authority to adjudicate such cases. Under the Constitution, the dismissal of the President or Vice President must be decided by the Constitutional Court. However, the alleged violation serving as the basis for the impeachment involves criminal law, which generally falls within the jurisdiction of the criminal courts. Another issue concerns the difference in the duration of proceedings: proceedings before the Constitutional Court take 90 days, while criminal proceedings may take up to three years. In this regard, the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court emphasized that proceedings before the Constitutional Court and criminal courts should be coordinated. In other words, the Constitutional Court should be able to issue its decision without waiting for the criminal proceedings to conclude, while its decision should not prevent the criminal justice process from continuing.
Another issue discussed was who should have standing to file an application for the dissolution of a political party. The former 24th Minister of Law and Human Rights stated that allowing the government to be the sole applicant could create various problems. Therefore, he proposed the involvement of a public-law institution—specifically, a state institution outside the government—as an applicant in political party dissolution cases. In addition, disputes arising from regional head elections would remain under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court until a special court is established to handle such disputes.
The former 22nd Minister of Defense also suggested that the Constitutional Court should be granted authority to adjudicate constitutional complaints (Constitutional Complaint). Such cases would concern final judgments in which an error was allegedly made in the process of rendering the decision. He further proposed providing a mechanism for judges who have doubts about the constitutionality of a law relevant to a case they are adjudicating. Such doubts could be submitted through a constitutional question (Constitutional Question) mechanism. The event concluded with the inauguration of the Regional Board of the Association of Constitutional and Administrative Law Lecturers (APHTN-HAN) for the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) for the 2016–2021 term. (Adik Miftakhur Rohmah/Fitri Isni Ridha)
