Legal Literacy - Exploring the concept General Principles of Good Governance in state administrative law. Learn about the functions and types of the General Principles of Good Governance and how their implementation affects government policies and citizens' rights.
Understanding the General Principles of Good Governance
The General Principles of Good Governance, or in Latin “algemene beginselen van behoorlijk bestuur,” are principles that regulate government efforts in making a decision (beschikking). The General Principles of Good Governance are fundamentally formed as legal protection for state administration as a limitation on the authorities of government officials so as not to cause losses to the public as a result of the birth of a policy.
Ridwan HR, in his book on Administrative Law, states that the general principles of good governance refer to basic guidelines and procedures in carrying out good governance. The goal is for the government to run well, be polite, fair, respectful, and free from unfair practices, rule violations, abuse of authority, and arbitrary actions.
Functions of the General Principles of Good Governance
The General Principles of Good Governance certainly have several functions. Ridwan HR in his book states that there are at least 4 functions, including:
- Towards the legislative body, the General Principles of Good Governance can be used as a guideline in drafting laws
- For judges of the State Administrative Court (PTUN), it can be used as a guideline in deciding a case relating to the cancellation of a State Administrative Decision (KTUN).
- For the public, it can be used as a guideline in suing agencies or officials of state administration due to the issuance of a KTUN.
- For government officials, it can be used as a reference for interpretation and application in the event of ambiguous regulations, and to avoid unlawful actions in carrying out their government.
Types of the General Principles of Good Governance
The General Principles of Good Governance are stipulated in Article 10 of Law 30/2014, including:
1) The Principle of Legal Certainty
This principle serves as a foundation in a state of law, in terms of creating a policy by the government that prioritizes justice, consistency, appropriateness, and is based on existing laws and regulations.
Ridwan HR writes about 2 aspects of this principle of legal certainty theoretically, namely:
- The aspect of material law, which is an aspect that respects the rights of citizens obtained from the issuance of a KTUN (State Administrative Court Decision) even if there is an error. Therefore, the decision that has been issued by government officials remains valid until there is a court decision that cancels it for the sake of legal certainty.
- The aspect of formal law is an aspect that provides requirements for the issuance of a KTUN, whether it is beneficial or burdensome, to be written in clear sentences. The parties concerned have the right to understand the intent and purpose of the KTUN.
2) The Principle of Benefit
This principle requires KTUN to balance the benefits between citizens, the government, and the ecosystem. In this case, the principle of benefit functions to prevent imbalances and conflicts of interest in the issuance of a KTUN.
3) The Principle of Impartiality
This principle requires government officials to pay attention to the interests of the parties concerned in a non-discriminatory and comprehensive manner.
4) The Principle of Prudence
This principle requires KTUN to be issued based on clear documents and information as legality of the implementation of KTUN to the parties concerned carefully.
5) The Principle of Non-Abuse of Authority
This principle requires every government official not to use his authority for personal gain or other interests that are not in line with the purpose of granting the authority itself.
6) The Principle of Transparency
This principle requires government officials to provide services to citizens in an open manner, which means providing access to obtain honest and correct information in administering their government by considering the protection of the rights of society, groups, and state secrets.
7) The Principle of Public Interest
This principle requires government officials to prioritize the benefit and public welfare with non-discriminatory, selective, accommodative, and aspirational efforts. The interpretation of this public interest is that government officials, when making a KTUN, must prioritize the interests involving many people, in this case the community.
8) The Principle of Good Service
This principle requires government officials to serve the community well. Good service means serving clearly regarding procedures and costs based on applicable regulations.
Practices of the General Principles of Good Governance
At the implementation level, people who feel aggrieved by the existence of a KTUN caused by a violation of the Principles of Good Governance by government officials can file a lawsuit through the State Administrative High Court (PTUN). Many cases have been decided due to violations of the Principles of Good Governance, resulting in administrative defects.
The General Principles of Good Governance should still be regarded as legal principles even though they are already stipulated in laws and regulations. This means that the General Principles of Good Governance in the law should be implicitly recognized in their formal legal aspect. As for the indicators of the implementation of the General Principles of Good Governance, law enforcers should not only view them rigidly as a formal interpretation, but also dynamically explore them using various other regulations such as jurisprudence, and norms that exist in society.
This is in line with 2 foundations as a consequence of the existence of legal principles. The first is the real foundation which depends on the facts that exist in society, the second is the ideal foundation which depends on the values of social life dynamically consisting of elements of ratio and morality. Example of Application of the General Principles of Good Governance
Application of the General Principles of Good Governance
One example of the implementation of the General Principles of Good Governance (AAUPB) is the principle of prudence which can be found in Supreme Court Decision Number 07 K/TUN/2014 between the Regent of Kampar and the indigenous people of Kenegerian Tambang Terantang. The Regent of Kampar issued a decision dated October 31, 2012, approving a mining business license for the production operation of rock, sand and stone minerals to parties outside the indigenous community, which is located on their customary land (pp. 1 and 4).
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