State Must Provide Legal Certainty for Health Professions, Not Control: Yusril

Debate over the governance of health professions in Indonesia has intensified following two important rulings from the Constitutional Court (MK). These decisions have sparked widespread discussion among academics, professional organisations and legal practitioners regarding how relationships between the state, professional organisations and medical education institutions should be regulated going forward.

This issue was among the topics discussed at a national forum titled “The Future of Councils, Collegiums and Professional Disciplinary Bodies Following the Latest Constitutional Court Rulings” held in Jakarta. The event brought together various figures from government, academia and professional organisations from across Indonesia.

At the event, Coordinator Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra emphasised the importance of balance between the state and professional organisations in regulating Indonesia’s health professions system. According to him, what is needed is not new dominance by one party, but rather a more balanced system.

“According to modern institutional science, dominance shifting hands is still considered dominance, whilst what is needed is not new dominance, but rather new balance,” Yusril said.

This statement was made in light of two important Constitutional Court rulings: Constitutional Court Decision Number 111/PUU-XXII/2024 and Constitutional Court Decision Number 182/PUU-XXII/2024. Both decisions relate to the regulation of health professions previously governed under Law Number 17 of 2023.

According to Yusril, the court identified potential risks in the design of delegated regulation stemming from the law. The delegation, which should have been merely technical, was deemed to potentially open space for substantive intervention that could affect academic independence in medical education and practice.

One aspect receiving attention is the position of the collegium within the medical profession system. The court considered that placing the collegium as part of the council risked creating uncertainty that could undermine the independence of that institution.

However, the collegium should function as a scientific body protecting academic standards and professional competence. For this reason, the institution was deemed to need to stand independently to avoid being influenced by administrative interests or institutional power struggles.