Expert: State has authority to take legal action against organisations

Constitutional and State Administrative Law expert from Universitas Muslim Indonesia (UMI), Fahri Bachmid, has affirmed that the state possesses the constitutional authority to take legal action, including regulation and restriction, against organisations within its national jurisdiction. Fahri stated in Jakarta on Saturday that the state, as the holder of sovereignty, has a legal basis to exercise this authority as long as it is granted by law and implemented in accordance with the principles of the rule of law. “As long as this authority is legally granted by law and executed according to the principles of the rule of law,” Fahri said. He explained that the state’s authority is not limited to legal action against organisations but also encompasses the formation of legal policy, supervision, and restrictions on legal entities within the national jurisdiction. Fahri made these remarks in the context of the revocation of the legal entity status of the Lyceum Christian Association (PLK) by the Ministry of Law through Minister of Law Decree Number AHU-08.AH.01.43 Year 2025. Fahri assessed that the dispute currently being examined at the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) does not only concern administrative aspects but also has constitutional dimensions. These dimensions, he said, include the state’s legal policy, the exercise of sovereignty, decolonisation policy in the history of Indonesian law, and the state’s authority in supervising and regulating organisations in accordance with the 1945 Constitution. The trial of the state administrative dispute lawsuit related to PLK has entered the stage of hearing expert testimony from the defendant’s side, namely the Directorate General of General Legal Administration of the Ministry of Law. In the hearing on Wednesday (10/6/2026), the defendant presented Fahri Bachmid as an expert to strengthen the legal arguments in the case. “Therefore, the various norms contained within it must be understood within the framework of the state’s legal policy at the time of its formation,” he said. He added that the policy is a legal instrument to safeguard national interests, control the influence of foreign organisations, and affirm the state’s authority in determining the legality of organisations in Indonesia. Fahri also mentioned that the decolonisation legal policy was subsequently reinforced through the Dwikora Cabinet Presidium Regulation Number 5/Prk/1965, which became the basis for regulating organisations and securing assets related to foreign interests. He stressed that the nationalisation policy from the late 1950s to the early 1960s was inseparable from the constitutional spirit in the Preamble and Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution. According to him, this policy was a state instrument to strengthen national sovereignty and limit foreign dominance by placing the interests of the Indonesian nation as the primary orientation of governance.