The decision marked the end of a two-year legal battle after 32 residents of Greater Jakarta, grouped under a movement named Koalisi Ibu Kota (Capital City Coalition), sued the President, environment minister, health minister, home minister and the governors of Jakarta, Banten and West Java in 2019.

In their lawsuit, the first of its kind in the country that aimed to hold authorities accountable for air pollution, the plaintiffs demanded that the defendants devise policies to improve air quality in Jakarta.

In the ruling read on Thursday, presiding judge Saifuddin Zuhri said the officials were found to have “violated the law” and ordered them to tighten environmental regulations, improve air pollution monitoring systems and mandate periodical emission tests for older vehicles as part of efforts to improve air quality.

The bench ordered the President to improve the national ambient air quality standard to protect the health of the people, environment, ecosystems and vulnerable groups. They also ordered the environment and forestry minister to coordinate efforts to control transboundary emissions in the Greater Jakarta area, which overlaps with cities of other provincial administrations, such as Tangerang in Banten as well as Depok, Bogor, and Bekasi in West Java.

The judges also ordered the health minister to start research efforts on the health impact from air pollution in Jakarta.

The court, however, did not rule that the actions of the public officials had violated human rights, which was among the demands from the petitioners.

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