Abstract
One of important mechanisms considered effective to protect civil and political rights of the citizens in Indonesia is constitutional review. This mechanism was created after the constitutional reform by establishing the new Constitutional Court in 2003 as an independent and separate court from the Supreme Court. This article examines the development of human rights guaranteed in the Indonesian Constitution. It also provides a critical analysis of the Constitutional Court’s role in protecting civil and political rights in Indonesia through its landmark decisions on five categories, namely: (1) freedom of assembly and association; (2) freedom of opinion, speech and expression; (3) freedom of religion; (4) right to life; and (5) due process of law. This research was conducted based on qualitative research methodology. It used a non-doctrinal approach by researching the socio-political impacts of the Constitutional Court’s decisions. Although there are still inconsistencies in its decisions, the research concludes that the Constitutional Court has taken a step forward for a better protection of civil and political rights in Indonesia that never existed prior to the reform.
Highlights
The protection of fundamental rights and freedoms is an important element of constitutional goverment because it can develop the personality of individual citizens and the advancement of human welfare in a democratic system
The amended Indonesian Constitution has a special chapter on human rights that provides almost all rights contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), referred to as the Constitutional Bill of Rights
In addition to the jurisdiction for conducting constitutional review, the Indonesian Constitutional Court has other jurisdictions, which include: determining disputes concerning the authorities of the state institutions whose powers are derived from the constitution; deciding matters concerning the dissolution of a political party; and deciding disputes over the result of general elections
Summary
The protection of fundamental rights and freedoms is an important element of constitutional goverment because it can develop the personality of individual citizens and the advancement of human welfare in a democratic system. The landmark decisions discussed in this article were chosen by analysing selected important decisions of constitutional review published by the Constitutional Court in its official reports annually. While this topic lends itself to extensive discussion, the scope of this discussion will be limited to the analysis of landmark decisions on five specific categories: (1) freedom of assembly and association; (2) freedom of opinion, speech and expression; (3) freedom of religion; (4) right to life; and (5) due process of law. This research is conducted based on qualitative research methodology by examining primary and secondary sources, case laws. It used a non-doctrinal research methodology to understand the law as a social phenomenon by researching the socio-political impacts of the Constitutional Court’s decisions. This article begins by discussing the development of human rights in the Indonesian Constitution
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