"Based on various theories on emergency constitutional law and positive laws regulating emergency conditions in Indonesia, we can conclude that Perppu No. 2 of 2022 is constitutional," Arinanto stated at a discussion on Job Creation Perppu constitutionality here, Saturday.
He explained that Article 22 of the 1945 Constitution allowed the president to designate a government regulation in lieu of law in conditions with "compelling urgency."
The regulation would be revoked if the House of Representatives (DPR RI) does not approve the Perppu to become a law following a parliamentary review, he stated.
Meanwhile, Constitutional Court Decision No. 138//PUU/VII/2009 defined "compelling urgency" as conditions when there is an urgency to resolve a legal issue or loopholes by enacting a law, and failure to do so will cause a legal vacuum, the professor remarked.
"Moreover, the legal vacuum could not be resolved by the normal law-making procedure which consumes a significant period of time, while the conditions demanded quick action to provide legal clarity," Arinanto stated in connection with conditions that allow the government to pass a Perppu.
He noted that President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi's) decision to enact Government Regulation in lieu of Law No. 2 of 2022 on Job Creation drew stern reactions from groups that support and oppose the law.
Furthermore, Arinanto noted that the public discourse was accentuated by the media that published stories about the public backlash.
Arinanto said that public backlash to the Perppu was due to people not yet having read the complete law.
"And those who have read the Perppu, either in complete or at a glance, often highlighted the 'compelling urgency' aspect (of the Perppu) according to Article 22 of the 1945 Constitution," he remarked.
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Translator: Boyke Ledy Watra, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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