Dismissal of President in Indonesian State Administration System

Abstract

The experience of Indonesia’s statehood has gone through a fairly long phase. Starting after the independence on August 17, 1945, Indonesia immediately ratified the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945) on August 18, 1945. Considering the transition from colonialism, the Indonesian state administration system was not yet stable. Soekarno was appointed as a President at that time. The constitution had experienced some changes (Provisional Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950) and with the Presidential Decree of July 5, 1959, the 1945 Constitution was re-enacted. Interestingly, the articles of the 1945 Constitution do not explicitly regulate the dismissal of the president. However, it is regulated in the Elucidation of the 1945 Constitution and that is implicit in the form of the authority of the House of Representatives (DPR) asking the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to hold a special session to hold the president accountable if he is considered violating the state’s course. It is not confirmed what the sanctions are, it is only interpreted by the MPR Decree that president can be dismissed. Then there was reformation in 1998 by making some changes to the 1945 Constitution four times (in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) and it is confirmed in Article 7 of the 1945 Constitution (Post-Amendment) the president could be dismissed if proven to have violated the law and must go through an inspection mechanism in the Constitutional Court before the special session of the MPR. This paper aims to compare the dismissal of president procedures in pre- and post-reform and a description of the challenges ahead in the president dismissal procedures.