Jaya Suprana handing over MURI awards to the Constitutional Court on Thursday (16/8/2019). Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—The Indonesian World Records Museum (MURI) awarded three records to the Constitutional Court (MK) on Thursday (15/8/2019) at Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta. The records are "The Longest Nonstop Judicial Session", "Judicial Session with the Most Case Files," and "The Most Transparent Trial Process." The award certificate was handed over directly by Jaya Suprana as CEO of MURI and received by the Secretary General of the Constitutional Court M. Guntur Hamzah, Registrar Muhidin, and Head of the Legal and Registrar Administration Bureau Wiryanto.

Chief Justice Anwar Usman said in his speech that the awards made the Court staff happy because as part of the community, MURI had given appreciation for their hard work. According to him, these records were certainly important and interesting, amidst the stigma in law enforcement and the judiciary, due to the process which, according to some, tends to be closed. "Thus, these records further strengthen the Constitutional Court to continue to realize a clean, modern, and transparent judiciary in maintaining high performance and integrity," he said.

In relation to the record of the longest nonstop judicial session, Justice Anwar said that existing laws requires the Constitutional Court to perform so. The electoral justice system that adheres to the speedy trial principle allows only fourteen working days to examine and decide upon presidential and vice presidential election case. As for the record of most court files, it is very feasible because the presidential election case is only one (01/PHPU-PRES/XVII/2019), while the jurisdiction covers the entire territory of Indonesia.

"However, whatever the number of files submitted by the parties, it is the obligation of the Constitutional Court to examine and review them. Regardless of the decision, there must be those who are satisfied and some who are not. It is impossible to satisfy all parties, especially if each has an interest, so each party\\\'s assessment of a decision will be affected by their interests," he said.

Most Special Records

In his address, Jaya Suprana revealed that more than 10 thousand records had been awarded by MURI. However, the records given to the Constitutional Court were MURI’s most special ones out of the 10 thousand.

"I came to honor [the Court], but this time I was honored. I have awarded five presidents and ministers. This is the first time to award an institution above the president, because the Constitutional Court determines the presidential election," he said.

Jaya revealed that the reason for the records was because the Constitutional Court had set the best role model as a transparent, independent, and modern judicial institution. "I have long admired the Constitutional Court. And indeed, the Constitutional Court is very worthy of receiving this record. Moreover, the Court has given an example of being an open and accessible judiciary for the public that should be emulated by all judicial institutions," he said.

The "Longest Nonstop Judicial Session" record was awarded for the session where the Court listened to the testimony of witnesses and experts held by the Constitutional Court in the 2019 Presidential and Vice Presidential PHPU case on June 19-20, 2019. The session took place for 19 hours and 52 minutes, opened by the Chief Justice Anwar Usman at 09.08 WIB and closed the next day on Thursday, June 20, 2019, at 05.00 WIB. The hearing listened to the statements of twelve witnesses and two experts presented by the Presidential Candidate Pair Number 2 Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno.

Then, the record "Judicial Session with the Most Case Files" was awarded as the Court examined the 2019 PHPU cases with a record of 11,360 boxes. Meanwhile, the record of "Most Transparent Trial Process" was awarded for the Court’s openness of its trial process, among others by broadcasting the proceedings live through live streaming on the Court’s website and YouTube channel. This transparency is considered to be very in line with the vision of the Constitutional Court, guarding the enforcement of the Constitution through modern and reliable judiciary. (Lulu Anjarsari)

Translated by: Yuniar Widiastuti