Full Description
Indonesia's political and governmental structures underwent sweeping reforms in the late 1990s. After decades of authoritarian rule, a key aspect of the transition to constitutional democracy during this period was the amendment of the 1945 Indonesian Constitution - an important legal text governing the world's third largest democracy. The amended Constitution introduced profound changes to the legal and political system, including an emphasis on judicial independence, a bill of rights, and the establishment of a Constitutional Court.
This volume, with chapters written by leading experts, explores the ongoing debates over the meaning, implementation, and practice of constitutional democracy in Indonesia. This includes debates over the powers of the legislature, the role of the military, the scope of decentralisation, the protection of rights and permissible limits on rights, the regulation of elections, the watchdog role of accountability agencies, and the leading role of the Constitutional Court. These legal issues are analysed in light of the contemporary social, political, and economic environment that has seen a decline in tolerance, freedom, and respect for minorities. Contributions to this volume review the past two decades of reform in Indonesia and assess the challenges to the future of constitutional democracy amidst the wide-spread consensus on the decline of democracy in Indonesia. Demands for amendments to the Constitution and calls to revert to its initial form would be a reversal of Indonesia's democratic gains.
Contents
List of Indonesian Abbreviations
List of Contributors
1: The Limits of Transformational Authoritarian Constitutions: The Indonesian Experience
Melissa Crouch
PART 1. LEGAL AND POLITICAL FOUNDATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS
2: The Consequences of Halfway Constitutional Reform: Problems of Lawmaking in Indonesia's Parliament
Stephen Sherlock
3: Defending the Constitution, But Which One? The Indonesian Military, Constitutional Change, and Political Contestation, 1945-2020
Marcus Mietzner
4: Between Upholding the Rule of Law and Maintaining Security: Criminal Justice Actors in Indonesia's Constitution
Fachrizal Afandi and Adriaan Bedner
5: Striking the Right Balance: Winding Back Indonesia's 'Big Bang' Decentralization
Rachael Diprose
6: Building Walls Rather than Bridges: The Judicial Commission vs the Supreme Court in Indonesia
Dian Rositawati
7: The Constitutional and Legislative Foundations of Indonesia's Electoral Regime
Adhy Aman and Dirk Tomsa
8: Election Supervision in Indonesia: Options for Reforming the General Election Supervisory Agency
Fritz Siregar
PART 2. THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND RIGHTS
9: Making Social Rights Real? The 1945 Constitution and Social Rights Litigation in Indonesia
Andrew Rosser
10: Indigeneity in the Indonesian Constitution
Yance Arizona
11: The Indonesian Constitutional Court and Informal Constitutional Change
Stefanus Hendrianto
12: The Constitutionalization of 'Religious Values' in Indonesia
Ahmad Rofii and Nadirsyah Hosen
13: LGBT Rights and the Constitutional Court: Protecting Rights without Recognizing them?
Abdurrachman Satrio
14: Legal Certainty in the Indonesian Constitutional Court: A Critique and Friendly Suggestion
Mark Cammack
Index
