Constitutional Court Justice Anwar Usman Says Farewell and Apologises at Final Session

Constitutional Court Justice Anwar Usman offered a farewell address during the hearing held on Monday, 16 March 2026. He bid goodbye ahead of retirement just before delivering a ruling on Case Number 176/PUU-XXIII/2025.

The brother-in-law of seventh president Joko Widodo stated that today’s ruling hearing represents the final session he will attend. “Before I deliver the ruling, perhaps this is my final hearing, as on 6 April I will have completed 15 years of service at the Constitutional Court,” he said in the Constitutional Court’s Plenary Conference Room in Jakarta.

Anwar acknowledged that during his tenure as a constitutional justice, he had made mistakes. Therefore, before entering retirement, Anwar apologised to all parties for his errors during his service as a constitutional justice. “From the depths of my heart, I convey my apologies,” he stated.

Anwar Usman was appointed as a constitutional justice upon the recommendation of the Supreme Court starting 6 April 2011. He subsequently continued his position as a constitutional justice for a second term in 2016 and served as Deputy Chief of the Constitutional Court.

On 2 April 2018, Anwar was elected Chief of the Constitutional Court, replacing Arief Hidayat for a term lasting until 2020. He was subsequently elected to that position for a second term, with a term lasting from 2023 to 2028, before ultimately being removed from the position due to proven ethical violations.

Anwar was then found to have involved himself in a conflict of interest in deciding Case Number 90/PUU-XXI/2023 regarding the age requirement for presidential and vice-presidential candidates, known as Decision 90.

The decision was said to have provided a path for Jokowi’s son and Anwar’s nephew, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to advance as a vice-presidential candidate in the 2024 presidential election. However, Gibran, who was 36 years old at the time, had not met the minimum age requirement for candidacy, which was set at 40 years old.