Revolutionizing Indonesia’s Constitutional Complaint Through International Law and Comparative Constitutional Approach

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-529-4_13How to use a DOI?

Keywords

constitutional complaint; access to justice; marginalized communities; Indigenous rights; human rights law

Abstract

Indonesia’s constitutional rights framework aspires to protect all citizens, yet the absence of a fully functional constitutional complaint mechanism creates a critical gap in access to justice. This limitation disproportionately affects marginalized communities, particularly Indigenous peoples and religious minorities, who often face structural, procedural, and cultural barriers in asserting their rights. While the Constitutional Court serves as the guardian of the Constitution, its jurisdiction is confined primarily to judicial review of laws and certain disputes of authority, without the capacity to hear individual complaints of constitutional rights violations. This paper argues that Indonesia requires a fundamental transformation—a “constitutional revolution”—to make its complaint mechanism accessible, effective, and aligned with international human rights commitments. Using a doctrinal methodology enriched with case studies, including landmark decisions on Indigenous religion recognition and customary forest rights, the paper examines how current institutional design fails to provide effective remedies. It situates the reform agenda within Indonesia’s obligations under the ICCPR, ICESCR, and UNDRIP, emphasizing the international legal principle that every individual must have access to a remedy for violations of fundamental rights. A comparative analysis draws lessons from the European Court of Human Rights, Germany’s Verfassungsbeschwerde, and Colombia’s tutela system. These models demonstrate how procedural accessibility, public interest standing, and cultural sensitivity can coexist with mechanisms to manage caseloads and prevent abuse. The paper proposes a hybrid Indonesian model that would expand the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction to include constitutional complaints, integrate legal aid and translation services, adopt collective complaint options, and implement proactive outreach for remote and vulnerable populations. Such a reform would not only bridge the gap between Indonesia’s constitutional ideals and lived realities but also reinforce the state’s credibility in fulfilling its international human rights obligations. By embedding access to justice at the heart of constitutional enforcement, Indonesia can strengthen democratic legitimacy and ensure no community is left without protection.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Wilma Silalahi
AU  - Eugenia Felicia Natiur Siregar
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/28
TI  - Revolutionizing Indonesia’s Constitutional Complaint Through International Law and Comparative Constitutional Approach
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Democracy and National Resilience 2025 (ICDNR 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 150
EP  - 168
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-529-4_13
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-529-4_13
ID  - Silalahi2025
ER  -