Indonesian Constitutional Court Holds Second Hearing on Petition To Allow Justice Regarding Atrocities Crimes in Myanmar

Jakarta, 13 October, 2022 - Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has held on 12 October its second hearing of a petition requesting a change in the law concerning the Human Rights Court. The move would allow cases to be heard in Indonesia against perpetrators of atrocity crimes in Myanmar.
“An updated version of the petition was submitted to the judges and the hearing went smoothly and the arguments were well received,” according to Feri Amsari, of Themis Indonesia. “We gave examples of other counties that accepted universal jurisdiction cases and argued that the implications for Indonesia’s courts would be minimal.”

According to the Petitioners, the Indonesian judicial system was designed to protect justice and the rights of everyone as regulated in Article 24, Article 24C, Article 28A to Article 28J of the 1945 Constitution.

Lawyers for the petitioners explained that there were two broad approaches: actively pursuing perpetrators and refusing to allow perpetrators a safe haven. Whichever was applied, they argued, would be in accordance with Indonesia’s constitution, which upholds the protection of rights universally.

The second panel hearing has been completed and the judges will hold a meeting to decide whether the case can proceed to a plenary session at which there will be statements from Parliament and President, experts witnesses and victims of atrocity crimes by the Myanmar military.