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MK rejects petition challenging 1960 eviction law
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A backhoe demolishes buildings during an eviction in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, on Sept. 28, 2016. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Constitutional Court (MK) has rejected on Tuesday a petition for a judicial review of a 1960 law that is frequently used by the city administration to facilitate evictions.
The court said it could not find any legal basis for approving the petition, which was submitted by several evicted Jakarta residents.
The petition was submitted in September 2016 by Rojiyanto, a former resident of Papanggo, North Jakarta, along with Mansur Daud and Rando Tanadi, former residents of Duri Kepa in West Jakarta.
Rojiyanto was evicted by the city administration to construct the BMW park in North Jakarta, while Mansur and Rando said they were evicted in the interests of a private estate and not the public interest.
Justice Maria Farida Indrati said the city administration's action was based on Article 33 of the Constitution, which mandates that the nation’s land, natural resources and water are controlled by the state and should be utilized in the interest of public welfare.
“The plaintiffs' evictions do not necessarily show that Law No. 51/1960 contradict the articles of the 1945 Constitution, because the government, in this case the local government, was repossessing land occupied by people who did not possess rightful ownership,” Maria said in Tuesday's hearing led by Justice Anwar Usman.
Jakarta Legal Aid Institution (LBH Jakarta) advocate Alldo Fellix Januardy said the law was drawn up in the 1960s, when citizens could occupy land freely. (dis)
