Ministry of Human Rights Employee Sues Minister Natalius Pigai at Jakarta Administrative Court
An employee of the Ministry of Human Rights, Ernie Nurheyanti M. Toelle, has filed a lawsuit against Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai at the Jakarta Administrative Court (PTUN).
The grounds for the lawsuit stem from Ernie’s transfer from her position as Secretary of the Directorate General for Human Rights Services and Compliance (an echelon IIA official position) to Human Rights Analyst Expert, effected through Human Rights Minister Decree No. MHA-14 KP.04.04 dated 23 January 2026.
Ernie is represented by legal counsel Deby Astuti Fangidae and Mordentika Sagala in this administrative law action.
“This ministerial decree has violated administrative procedures and was issued without transparent and objective decision-making mechanisms,” stated Ernie’s legal representatives in a written statement on Tuesday (10 March).
In their lawsuit, the legal team presented two grounds challenging the legality of the ministerial decree. First, the Human Rights Minister cited Ernie’s poor budget absorption performance. However, according to the legal counsel, budget absorption in the Secretariat of the Directorate General for Human Rights Services and Compliance reached 99.56 per cent, whilst overall absorption in the Directorate General for Human Rights Services and Compliance was only 92.88 per cent.
Furthermore, in the Employee Performance Assessment documents, Ernie received a “Good” performance rating.
The legal team contended that the decision-maker failed to consider Ernie’s performance integrity throughout her 31 years at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and one year at the Ministry of Human Rights.
The second ground challenges the decision as lacking transparent performance evaluation procedures and not being based on administrative examination or assessment as required by applicable legal provisions.
Notably, notification of the new posting was communicated via WhatsApp less than 24 hours before the transfer took effect.
“This action disregards proper administrative correspondence procedures to enforce the minister’s will, demonstrating arbitrary action and disregard for proper bureaucratic ethics,” the legal counsel stated.
Ernie has reportedly submitted written objections to the ministerial decree on three occasions, but the Human Rights Minister has not provided any written response.
According to the legal team, this lack of response demonstrates the transfer process lacked transparency and suggested an attempt to conceal legal facts. The transfer represents not merely a reassignment of duties, but a concealed demotion that damages the career of the employee in question.
“Our client regrets the Human Rights Minister’s actions, which are inconsistent with human rights principles, particularly the right to transparent information. This action also undermines the government’s efforts to implement a merit-based system, which should guarantee career advancement based on performance rather than objective assessment,” the legal counsel stated.
“In response to the arbitrary action taken by the Human Rights Minister, we have filed a lawsuit at the Administrative Court and trust that the court’s decision will declare the ministerial decree legally defective,” they added.
When contacted separately, Ernie confirmed the administrative court action. She stated that the next hearing would take place the following week.
“The third hearing is scheduled for 16 March. It remains a closed session,” Ernie told CNN Indonesia.
CNN Indonesia also attempted to contact Natalius Pigai through written message, but had not received a response at the time of publication.