Constitutional Complaint on Criminal and Civil Court Judgements: The German Judicial Practices of the Bundesverfassungsgericht and Proposal for the Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31078/consrev1213Keywords:
Constitutional Complaint, Criminal Court, Civil Court, JudgementsAbstract
This article examines constitutional complaints regarding criminal and civil court decisions in the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) practices. It proposes recommendations for the Indonesian Constitutional Court. In the German legal system, such constitutional complaints fall under the jurisdiction of the BVerfG. Based on data from 2020 to 2024, approximately 85% of BVerfG decisions pertain to ordinary court judgements, encompassing those of both criminal and civil courts. This legal mechanism is a very popular area of jurisdiction at the BVerfG, with around 5,000–6,000 cases resolved each year. Some notable cases include the Lüth case, the Soldiers are Murderers case, the Right to be Forgotten case, and others. The Lüth case cancelled a Hamburg civil court judgement, the Soldiers are Murderers case overturned several criminal courts' decisions, and the Right to be Forgotten case cancelled the German Supreme Court judgement. In its decisions on these cases, the BVerfG stated that the ordinary court rulings were contrary to the German Basic Law and principles of human rights, and that the rulings had violated the constitutional rights of citizens. The judicial practices of the BVerfG serve as a reference for constitutional courts worldwide, and it could potentially be adopted by the Indonesian Constitutional Court (MKRI) in the future through a constitutional amendment process to the 1945 Constitution. It is certainly motivated by the large number of constitutional complaints relating to criminal courts that have been resolved through the abstract judicial review mechanism, as well as concerns about miscarriages of justice and judicial corruption in the ordinary courts. The aim is to strengthen the protection of citizens' constitutional rights against all court decisions that violate these rights. At the same time, the Indonesian Constitutional Court's power serves as a counterbalance to ordinary court decisions based on Pancasila constitutional values, the 1945 Constitution, and Indonesian human rights principles.
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