Legal Literacy - The Constitutional Court is one of the state institutions that has the authority to uphold the law and the constitution in Indonesia. So, what exactly is the Constitutional Court, what is its history, and what are its functions and authorities as part of the judicial institution that exercises judicial power in Indonesia?

Definition of the Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court is essentially a state judicial institution authorized to exercise judicial power with final and binding decisions. The decisions issued by the Constitutional Court are the first and last decisions, so this judicial institution can be said to be the highest judicial institution besides the Supreme Court in the judicial hierarchy in Indonesia. Article 2 of Law Number 24 of 2003 concerning the Constitutional Court mentions the Constitutional Court as part of a state institution that exercises independent judicial power to administer justice in order to uphold law and justice. The legal basis for the establishment of the Constitutional Court can also be found in Article 24 paragraph 2 and Article 24C of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

History of the Constitutional Court

The establishment of the Constitutional Court was based on the idea of adopting the concept of Constitutional Court in the third amendment process of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia by the MPR RI in 2001, which was formulated in Article 24 paragraph 2, 24C, and Article 7B of the 1945 Constitution which was ratified on November 9, 2001. After the amendment process was completed, the MPR appointed the Supreme Court to temporarily replace the duties of the Constitutional Court, in line with the rules stipulated in Article III of the Transitional Provisions of the 1945 Constitution. The DPR and the government ratified the Constitutional Court Bill as Law Number 24 of 2003 concerning the Constitutional Court on August 13, 2003.

Duties and Authorities of the Constitutional Court

The provisions regarding the duties and authorities of the Constitutional Court are mentioned in Article 24C paragraph 1 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia which reads: “The Constitutional Court has the authority to adjudicate at the first and last level, whose decisions are final, to review laws against the Constitution, to resolve disputes over the authority of state institutions whose authority is granted by the Constitution, to decide on the dissolution of political parties, and to decide on disputes regarding the results of general elections”. In addition, Article 24C paragraph 2 also mentions other duties and obligations of the Constitutional Court, namely the obligation to provide a decision on the opinion of the DPR regarding allegations of violations by the President and/or Vice President according to the Constitution. Based on the provisions of this article, we can conclude that the Constitutional Court has at least 5 duties and authorities, namely: