TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Judge of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia Saldi Isra said the lawsuit against the Indonesian National Military Law (TNI Law), Law Number 3 of 2025, made history as it marked the first time numerous identical requests for formal and material review were tried at once.
According to Saldi, the TNI Law has attracted the highest number of lawsuits in the Court's history, with dozens of submissions filed by individuals ranging from university students to members of civil society.
"This is a first in the history of the Court," Saldi said during the preliminary hearing for cases Number 45, 55, 69, and 79/PUU-XXIII/2025 at the Constitutional Court building on Friday, May 9, 2025.
He noted that the Court had scheduled the first hearings for these cases that same day, most of which were submitted by students from various universities across Indonesia.
For instance, the plaintiffs in cases Number 45, 55, 69, and 79 included three students representing the University of Indonesia, Padjadjaran University, and Brawijaya University.
"It seems Indonesian students are united," said Saldi, a constitutional law professor from Andalas University.
He encouraged the students to set aside institutional interests and collaborate. Saldi suggested merging their cases when the Court allows time to revise their petitions.
"So they can strengthen each other's arguments, evidence, and other elements," he said.
One of the petitioners' legal counsels, Abu Rizal Biladina from the University of Indonesia Faculty of Law, said the lawsuit was filed because they found the legislative process behind the TNI Law to be flawed and unconstitutional.
He argued that the irregularities were evident in how the House of Representatives (DPR) bypassed standard procedures for drafting laws, which should comply with the principles outlined in the Law on the Formation of Legislation (P3).
"For example, the principle of transparency was ignored during the deliberation of the TNI Law revision last March," he said.
"From the discussions to its enactment, the academic manuscript of the law was never made public, which we see as a clear violation."
The Constitutional Court is scheduled to hold preliminary hearings for 11 lawsuits challenging the TNI Law’s legality. According to MKRI.id, these hearings will be conducted in three simultaneous panels beginning at 09:00 AM WIB (Western Indonesian Time).
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