Legal Status of Law Elucidation in The Indonesian Legislation System

Abstract

Law elucidation is the interpretation of norms contained in the body of the law. Since the Constitutional Court reviewed the elucidation, several legal issues have arisen regarding law elucidation in the Indonesian Legislation System. The first is the formal (binding force) and material (material content) legal status of the law elucidation. The second is the extent to which the Constitutional Court can review the law elucidation. This study employed normative juridical and evaluative methods; and generates several conclusions. First, the law elucidation has binding legal force. Second, there are two forms of the elucidation content: (1) interpretation in the form of norm; and (2) interpretation that is not in the form of norm. Third, the elucidation can be reviewed if it contradicts the body of the law, other the laws that regulate the same substance, or contrary to the 1945 Constitution. Fourth, the elucidation needs to be separated from the law framework. Consequently, the elucidation does not contain essential content and does not cause constitutional problems if the content is problematic. Lastly, the elucidation needs to contain the aims and objectives of each article's existence. Therefore, the law enforcers can implement the law according to the legislators' wishes.