Constitutional Court Rejects Hasto's Challenge on "Obstruction of Justice" Provision
JAKARTA – The Constitutional Court (MK) declared that it could not accept the petition for judicial review of Article 21 of the Anti-Corruption Law (UU Tipikor) filed by PDI Perjuangan Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto.
The ruling, numbered 136/PUU-XXIII/2025, was announced in a plenary session presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo and other constitutional judges at the MK building on Monday, 2 March 2026.
“The petitioner’s petition is declared inadmissible,” Suhartoyo announced the ruling decision on Monday.
However, regarding the constitutional review of Article 21 of the Anti-Corruption Law, a decision had previously been rendered by the Constitutional Court in earlier case number 71/PUU-XXIII/2025 dated 2 March 2026.
“Which was previously announced with a ruling decision that essentially granted the petitioner’s petition in part and declared the phrase ‘directly or indirectly’ in the norms of Article 21 of the Anti-Corruption Law to be unconstitutional,” stated Guntur.
“That decision has binding legal force from the date the ruling was announced, therefore the subject matter of the petition submitted by the petitioner no longer exists as the substance of the statutory norm that was being challenged,” Guntur explained.
“Accordingly, in the Court’s view, the petitioner’s petition has lost its legal object,” he added.
Hasto’s attorney, Illian Deta Arta Sari, had previously argued during Wednesday’s hearing on 13 August 2025 that Article 21 should impose penalties of a maximum prison sentence of three years and/or a fine of at least Rp150,000,000 and at most Rp600,000,000.
Additionally, Hasto requested that the phrase “investigation, prosecution, and trial proceedings” in Article 21 not have binding force except where it carries a cumulative meaning. In essence, Hasto sought to narrow the definition of obstruction of justice to require interference at all stages of the legal process or pro justitia, rather than at any single stage.