Annulment of Bylaws within Authority of Supreme Court

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Constitutional Court on Wednesday (5/4) decided that the attempts by governors and the home minister to annul problematic regional regulations or bylaws are unconstitutional and therefore not legally binding. It is feared that the Constitutional Court ruling, which orders all annulment of bylaws to be done by the Supreme Court, could make it difficult to annul problematic bylaws related to investment or social harmony in the regions.

In the conclusion of a judicial review of Law No. 23/2014 on regional administration, the panel of Constitutional Court judges presided over by chief justice Arief Hidayat said that Article 251, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, which gives the minister and governors, as the representatives of the central government, the authority to annul regency and city bylaws, runs against the 1945 Constitution.

The panel of justices, in its consideration, said that the articles deviate from the logic and foundation of Indonesia as a rule-of-law state, as mandated in Article 1 paragraph 3 of the Constitution. They also said the granting of the authority negated the role and function of the Supreme Court as the institution that has the authority to review legislation, as regulated in Article 24A paragraph 1 of the Constitution.