Disavowing Constitution

Not all rulings of the Constitutional Court have been obeyed by lawmakers although, in fact, according to the 1945 Constitution, the Constitutional Court rulings are final and binding.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

The Constitutional Court’s panel of judges holds a plenary meeting at the court in Jakarta on 28 Jan. 2020. The meeting was held to discuss the court’s performance in 2019 to exercise transparency and accountability. From the time of its establishment in 2003 until December 2019, the court has received 3,005 cases: 1,317 judicial reviews, 982 regional election disputes and 671 legislative election disputes, among others.

Since it was established in 2003, with the issuance of Law No. 24 of 2003, until December 2019, the Court has received 3,005 requests, the majority of which, 1,317, were the requests for judicial reviews. The Constitutional Court also issued rulings to settle disputes related to the results of regional head elections, legislative elections and presidential elections, as well as disputes over the authority of state institutions. By December 2019, the Court had completed 2,849 cases.

From the requests that have been settled, as many as 397 cases or about 13.93 percent were ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. Of the rest, 1,005 cases (45.81 percent) were rejected, 1,004 cases (34 percent) were deemed unacceptable, 60 cases (2.11 percent) were dropped, 171 cases (5.75 percent) were withdrawn, 25 cases (2 percent) halted by pretrial rulings, 11 cases (1 percent) were deemed not under the authority of the Constitutional Court and 30 cases were still being investigated.