Constitutional Court Targets July Ruling on Free Nutritious Meal Programme Lawsuit

The Constitutional Court (MK) is targeting a decision by July 2026 on the judicial review petition concerning the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme’s inclusion in education funding. Consequently, the court has requested the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to limit the number of expert witnesses presented in next week’s hearing.

The statement was made by Chief Justice Suhartoyo during the material review session of Law Number 17 of 2025 on the 2026 State Budget (APBN 2026) for petitioners number 40/PUU-XXIV/2026, 52/PUU-XXIV/2026, and 55/PUU-XXIV/2026 at the Plenary Meeting Room, MK Building I, Jakarta, on Monday.

The issue arose from the government’s legal counsel requesting to present more than three expert witnesses for the upcoming hearing scheduled for Tuesday (23/6/2026). Chief Justice Suhartoyo rejected the request and insisted that the number of experts from the government be equal to those from the DPR, specifically three experts for the three cases.

When Zulmansyah, Director of Litigation and Non-Litigation at the Ministry of Law representing the government, indicated they had two experts per case, Suhartoyo interjected, citing time constraints that would not allow for the examination of four witnesses. The Chief Justice emphasised that the constitutional justices are striving to resolve the case by the end of the month at the latest to ensure the issue raised in the petitioners’ provisional motion is not lost.

The government’s legal counsel attempted to negotiate for four experts, but Suhartoyo firmly maintained the limit of three, matching the number presented by the DPR. Following this understanding, the session was adjourned and is scheduled to resume on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, at 08:30 WIB, with the Chief Justice noting the hearing could extend until noon if necessary.