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Analysis: Law revision deemed putting leash on Constitutional Court
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Justices of the Constitutional Court lead a hearing on the 2019 general and presidential elections at the court in Central Jakarta on June 27. (JP/Donny Fernando)
T
he fourth amendment to the 2003 Constitutional Court Law is about to be added to the growing list of bills that, despite much public backlash, are to be passed into law under the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. The proposed amendments will likely chip away at the judiciary’s independence and thus leave it vulnerable to political influences.
Revisions to the law include reducing the tenure of the court’s justices from 15 to 10 years. Justices that have held office for more than five years but less than 10 years must undergo evaluation to extend their terms in office, which also requires the approval of their appointing institutions, including the president and the House of Representatives.
According to House Deputy Speaker Sufi Dasco Ahmad, the Constitutional Court Law revision was first proposed to the House in February 2023. Initially, the revisions concerned changing the age limit for justices, revising members of the court’s Ethics Council and altering the terms of the court leadership.
After months of silence, however, the bill was then suddenly finalized during a meeting between the government and House Commission III in late November before it was put on hold due to the 2024 general election. It should be noted that only eight out of nine House factions were present at that meeting, while the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) was absent.
When word of the law revision spread, the public criticized the bill’s deliberation being largely held behind closed doors and how it was not initially included among the priority bills of the 2023 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas). As with many other bills deliberated during the Jokowi administration, public consultation was minimal.
Backlash over the Constitutional Court Law revision also partly fueled public suspicion of government intervention at the court during the election disputes.
Critics are now convinced that the government and House are planning to ratify the bill during the current plenary session, which began on May 20, in response to the unprecedented dissenting opinions that three justices voiced when the court upheld the results of the Feb. 14 presidential election. The three justices were Saldi Isra, Enny Nurbaningsih and Arief Hidayat.
