Amicus Curiae is a legal tradition from Roman law and practiced in the Common Law System. The concept of Amicus Curiae is that of a party providing its opinion relevant to the case. Indonesia also adopts Amicus Curiae with legal support under Article 5 paragraph (1) of Law Number 48 of 2009 concerning Judicial Authority:
“Judges and Constitutional Judges must explore, follow, and understand the legal values and sense of justice that exist in society.”
Yesterday, precisely on April 16, 2024, Megawati Soekarnoputri filed an Amicus Curiae to the Constitutional Court. The Amicus Curiae filed by Megawati concerns the Dispute of the 2024 Presidential Election Results. The submission of Amicus Curiae was represented by a power of attorney by Hasto Kistiyanto as the Secretary General of the PDI-P Party and Djarot Saiful Hidayat. Apart from the submission of Amicus Curiae, Megawati also handed over a handwritten letter to the Supreme Court.
Amicus Curiae, or Friend of the Court, is a legal concept that allows third parties, those with an interest in a case, to provide their legal opinion to the court. This legal opinion will then be taken into consideration by the judges in their decision-making process in a case.
There are several key points from the contents of Megawati Soekarnoputri’s handwritten letter when filing for Amicus Curiae:
- The hope for the Constitutional Court to accept Megawati Soekarnoputri to become a Friend of the Court/Amicus Curiae.
- “After Darkness, Light Emerges.
- ‘” a phrase from Ibu Kartini, which means that Democracy, currently in darkness, is hoped to return to light by having Megawati Soekarnoputri as a Friend of the Court.
- Democracy, which has been fought for, will continue to be remembered by the Indonesian people.
The Legal Representatives of the Prabowo-Gibran camp responded to Megawati Soekarnoputri’s Amicus Curiae submission. The Legal Representatives of the Prabowo-Gibran camp essentially argued that a Friend of the Court is not a party to the case and must be independent, so it is inappropriate for Megawati to nominate herself as an Amicus Curiae.
The opinion of the Legal Representatives of the Prabowo-Gibran camp stating the inappropriateness of Megawati becoming an Amicus Curiae is concluded too quickly, as there are no provisions directly regulating who may become an Amicus Curiae. Additionally, Megawati’s status at the time of registration is that of an Indonesian Citizen. According to the existing regulations, Judges must consider the opinions of the public fairly, which means all Indonesian citizens can become Amicus Curiae.
In contrast to the opinion of the Legal Representatives of the Prabowo-Gibran camp, Hamid Awaluddin, a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, UNHAS, stated that Megawati Soekarnoputri’s position is very appropriate to become a Friend of the Court because she has two legitimacy proofs:
- In terms of Upholding Democracy, Megawati Soekarnoputri has been fighting since the old order, through the reform era, and up to the present day.
- Because Megawati Soekarnoputri applied to become a Friend of the Court in the Dispute of the 2024 Presidential Election, it is proven that in 2004 she was the first president directly elected by the people in Indonesia. This proves that Megawati Soekarnoputri has never intervened or controlled presidential elections. Therefore, Megawati has Moral Legitimacy.
There are no provisions stating whether someone can or cannot become an Amicus Curiae. Based on Law Number 48 of 2009 concerning Judicial Authority as explained above, Judges must explore and consider the existing values, so the presence of Amicus Curiae will broaden and sharpen the judges’ assessments. Therefore, if there are members of the public who feel they have an interest, they can nominate themselves to become Amicus Curiae.