MPR Strengthens Position of Constitutional Amendment Records as Legal Reference
The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) is pushing for the records of the 1945 Constitution amendments to be viewed not merely as administrative archives, but as legal documents that can enrich constitutional interpretation. This was emphasised during a Focus Group Discussion at Airlangga University (UNAIR) titled ‘The Records of the 1945 Constitution Amendments as a Constitutional Reference: Unravelling the Meaning of the Constitution in Legal and Academic Review’.
Dr. Wachid Nugroho, Head of the MPR’s Bureau for Session and Constitutional Dissemination, stated that the MPR is currently compiling the amendment records in a thematic format to make them more accessible to academics, researchers, students, and law enforcement. ‘We are encouraging that these records are not just administrative archives, but have meaning as legal documents that can enrich constitutional interpretation,’ he said on Thursday.
He explained that the MPR has also digitised all state administration documents, including the records of the Constituent Assembly, the MPRS, and the MPR from before the reform era. ‘All records held by the MPR have been digitised so they can be used by students and researchers as study material. Likewise, all MPR Decrees have been digitised so that past state administration practices can be studied,’ he said.
Wachid noted that countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States have long used such records as a reference in legal interpretation. He stressed that the use of the amendment records should not be limited to Constitutional Court hearings; lawmakers and state administrators should also use them as a guide in implementing the constitution.
Former Constitutional Court Justice and member of the Ad Hoc Committee for the 1945 Constitution Amendments, Dr. Harjono, argued that understanding the constitution requires more than a literal reading of the text or records. He said it is essential to grasp the ideas, debates, and spirit behind each formulation. ‘Behind every formulation, there is a soul. If you only read the records, you are only reading the dregs. What must be understood is what lies behind those records, the ideas that gave birth to each constitutional formulation,’ he stated.
Harjono explained that the amendments were driven by the spirit of democratisation, upholding the rule of law, eradicating corruption, collusion, and nepotism, and strengthening decentralisation. He also highlighted the change in the concept of popular sovereignty as one of the most fundamental decisions of the amendment process, noting that the MPR was the only institution that consciously reduced its own authority to ensure sovereignty truly rests with the people and is exercised through general elections.
UNAIR Professor of Law, Radian Salman, assessed that the records play a crucial role in aiding constitutional interpretation by mapping the ideology, moral values, and perspectives of the constitution’s framers. He argued that while the records should not be made a binding source of law, their legal relevance is significant and they should not be ignored in constitutional interpretation.
Dr. Himawan Estu Bagijo, Chairman of the East Java APHTN-HAN, encouraged that the records be systematically compiled, made easily accessible to the public, and supplemented with validated written and audiovisual documentation. He described the records as an investment in knowledge for future generations to understand how the Indonesian constitution was formed and developed.