Legislation Body Follows Up on Constitutional Court Ruling Regarding State Losses
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Legislation Body (Baleg) of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) is following up on the Constitutional Court’s (MK) ruling regarding the phrase “state losses” in the context of corruption offences, including by promoting revisions to regulations related to the decision.
“Baleg is here to see which regulations need to be revised or to urge the relevant institutions to revise them,” said Deputy Chairman of Baleg DPR RI Martin Manurung, as stated in Jakarta on Wednesday.
According to him, the MK ruling ends the confusion in determining state losses.
He said that previously there had been discrepancies due to various norms in legislation, including at the level of presidential regulations to Supreme Court (MA) circulars.
“This MK ruling strengthens that the Financial Audit Board (BPK) is the state auditing body that can declare state losses, while others like the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPK) are for internal audits or supervision,” he stated.
For Martin, the overlapping rules are a concern for Baleg as a legislative body with the function of forming laws. Baleg will identify which regulations need to be revised.
He also highlighted the legal implications of the MK ruling, which is deemed crucial in creating legal certainty, especially in handling cases related to state losses.
“I think it’s important for legal certainty. There are laws and regulations that need to be improved or adjusted to this MK ruling,” he said.
He made the statement referring to MK Decision No. 28/PUU-XXIV/2026. Baleg DPR RI has held a plenary meeting with the DPR RI Expertise Agency (BKD) regarding the ruling on Tuesday (14/4).
Martin said that the BKD study serves as initial capital for Baleg to carry out its oversight and review functions on the implementation of laws. In the future, Baleg will follow it up through various forums, including meetings with relevant institutions.
It is known that MK Decision No. 28/PUU-XXIV/2026 was pronounced on Monday (2/3). The Court in that decision rejected the application of the applicants, namely students named Bernita Matondang and Vendy Setiawan in its entirety.
In the application, the two students challenged the phrase “causing losses to state finances” in Article 603 and Article 604 of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code (KUHP).
According to the applicants, the phrase creates legal uncertainty because it does not provide clear standards regarding the criteria or form of state financial losses, the mechanism and stages of determination, and the authority entitled to declare such losses.
However, the Court rejected the applicants’ application because their arguments were deemed unfounded in law. The applicants’ concerns have actually been addressed in previous rulings.
In its legal considerations, the MK explained that Articles 603 and 604 of the KUHP are codifications of corruption offences regulated in Article 2 paragraph (1) and Article 3 of Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption.
The Court stated that the concept of state losses has been explained in Decision No. 25/PUU-XIV/2016. It was stated in that decision that the concept of state losses in the sense of material delict requires actual or real state losses.
In other words, state losses can already be calculated in amount based on findings from authorised institutions or bodies. This concept, according to the MK, is the same as the Explanation of Article 603 of the KUHP which states “causing losses to state finances is based on the results of examinations by state financial audit institutions”.
“Therefore, by referring to the Explanation of Article 603 of Law 1/2023, the state institution authorised to audit state finances as meant is the Financial Audit Board, as mandated in Article 23E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia,” said the Court.
In addition, the MK reiterated the content of Decision No. 142/PUU-XXII/2024 that if there is a non-single interpretation regarding the phrase “causing losses to state finances or the state economy”, it is the authority of the law-making body to formulate it.
In other words, the MK assessed that there is no constitutional issue in Articles 603 and 604 of the KUHP. Thus, in Decision No. 28/PUU-XXIV/2026, the MK made no changes to the two articles.
On the other hand, the phrase “causing losses to state finances” in the Explanation of Article 603 of the KUHP is again being tested at the MK by individual citizens designated as suspects in alleged corruption, Naslindo Sirait and Yeasy Darmayanti.
In the application recorded as No. 107/PUU-XXIV/2026, the two applicants asked the Court to clearly state that the state financial audit institution meant is the BPK. That application is currently ongoing at the MK.