Constitutional Court Rules National Disaster Status Requires Only Three Indicators

The Constitutional Court (MK) has decided that the government may determine the status and level of national or regional disasters if at least three of the five indicators stipulated in the law are fulfilled, with the number of victims placed as the primary indicator. The decision was handed down in case Number 261/PUU-XXIII/2025 concerning a judicial review of Law Number 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management, read out in a plenary session at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta on Friday (28/8).

“The verdict partially grants the petitioners’ request,” asserted Chief Justice Suhartoyo when reading the ruling. In its decision, the panel of constitutional justices declared Article 7 paragraph (2) of Law Number 24 of 2007 to be conditionally unconstitutional and without binding legal force.

The five indicators serving as the basis for determining national disaster status include the number of victims, property losses, damage to infrastructure and facilities, the extent of the affected area, and the resulting socio-economic impact. “In determining the status and level of a national disaster, it shall be based on the fulfilment of at least three indicators, with the number of victims as the primary indicator that must be met,” said Suhartoyo.

The judicial review petition was filed by seven petitioners, the majority of whom are advocates. The legal action was triggered by the floods and landslides that struck Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra in 2025. The severe disaster, which claimed 1,016 lives and forced approximately 850,000 people to flee, was not designated as a national disaster by the central government at the time, but was merely labelled as a ‘national priority’.

The petitioners questioned the use of the term ‘national priority’ because the official reference in Article 7 of the Disaster Management Law only recognises the determination of national and regional disaster status. According to the petitioners, the term national priority is more oriented towards development policy and does not address the emergency response needs of victims on the ground.

Previously, Article 7 paragraph (2) of the Disaster Management Law merely listed the five indicators without providing a standard limitation on the number of quantitative indicators that must be fulfilled. Meanwhile, Article 7 paragraph (3) stated that further provisions would be regulated through a presidential regulation. Through this Constitutional Court ruling, legal certainty regarding the benchmark for determining national disaster status now has clear parameters to guarantee protection and emergency response for affected communities.