The Constitutional Court (MK) held a General Lecture at the Islamic University of Indonesia, Yogyakarta, on Tuesday afternoon (2/10). The general lecture is part of a series of events of The 2nd Indonesian Constitutional Court International Symposium 2018 (ICCIS 2018) under the theme "The Constitutional Court and the Protection of Citizens Constitutional Rights." The general lecture presented Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Aswanto and Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia Tan Sri Zainun binti Ali.

In his presentation, Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Aswanto explained the authorities and duties of the Constitutional Court before 50 academia and students. He explained five conditions for constitutional loss, including the impairment of petitioners' constitutional rights and/or authorities, which are granted by the 1945 Constitution, by the enactment of the law petitioned for review, in which the constitutional impairment must be specific and actual or at least potential, which according to logical reasoning is inevitable.

Aswanto added that there is causal relationship (causal verband) between the losses referred to and the enactment of the law petitioned for review. The Constitutional Court also gave legal standing to non-governmental organizations that are concerned with certain issues related to the enactment of certain laws to file cases with the Constitutional Court, as well as to taxpayers. The legal standing, in this case, will be observed from the relationship between tax payments and the provisions being reviewed.

In addition, Justice Aswanto added that in its development, the Constitutional Court not only assessed the results of vote counting but also the election process. He said that based on the decision No. 41/PHPU.D-VI/2008 on the East Java gubernatorial election, the Constitutional Court stated that the results of the election could be canceled if there were structured, systematic and massive violations affecting the election results.

Furthermore, based on the decisions of the Constitutional Court in election results dispute settlement, the common connection is that the election results can only be annulled by the Constitutional Court if the violations that occurred have significantly affected the election results. Decision Number 97/PUU-XI/2013 stipulates that the Constitutional Court no longer has the authority to resolve disputes over local elections. However, the Constitutional Court still resolves such disputes until a new law regulating them is passed.

At the end of his presentation, Justice Aswanto affirmed the Constitutional Court adjudicates at the first and last levels and its decisions are final. In addition, the Constitutional Court rulings have permanent legal force since being issued at the plenary hearings that are open to the public.

Meanwhile, Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia Tan Sri Zainun binti Ali explained Article 96 of the Court of Juricature Act 1964 stipulates that an appeal must be lodged from the Court of Appeal to the Federal Court. The prerequisites include, among other things, first, that an appeal can be made on any decision or order of the Court of Appeal, in connection with a civil cause or a case decided by the Court of Appeal in the implementation of a jurisdiction involving questions about the general principle decided for the first time, second, any decision regarding the effects of the provisions of the Constitution including the validity of each written law related to those provisions.

Furthermore, Advisory jurisdiction of Federal Court can give an opinion on each question that arises that has been referred to by Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King), regarding the influence of the provisions of the Constitution. Furthermore, the Federal Court will declare in an open court its opinion about the question referred to it.