TNI Law Challenged To Constitutional Court While Revision Is Rolling

Law Number 34 of 2004 concerning the Indonesian National Army (TNI) was challenged at the Constitutional Court (MK) amidst the revision currently underway in the Indonesian House of Representatives. The lawsuit was filed by Mhd. Halkis, Professor of Philosophy at the Indonesian Defense University. Halkis' reason for challenging the regulation was because he considered it to restrict the rights of soldiers, which was contrary to the 1945 Constitution. "The judicial review of the TNI Law was filed because it was considered to be contrary to the constitution and restrict the rights of soldiers as citizens," said Halkis, quoted from Antara, Saturday (3/15/2025). 

Reported from the Constitutional Court page mkri.id, the lawsuit has entered the application stage with the number 38/PUU/PAN.MK/AP3/03/2025. 

However, because it has not entered the case registration stage, the application documents cannot be accessed directly. Halkis, who is also an active officer, explained that Article 2 letter d of the TNI Law defines professional soldiers as soldiers who are trained, educated, well-equipped, do not engage in practical politics, do not do business, and whose welfare is guaranteed. The definition of not doing business, not engaging in practical politics, and others is considered logically incorrect because it uses a negative approach. He considered that the article did not explain the positive definition of professional soldiers, but only mentioned what should not be done, so there was a misunderstanding in understanding military professionalism. "Professional soldiers must be interpreted as soldiers who carry out state duties neutrally, based on competence, and have rights in economic aspects and public office," he said. In line with the Revision of the TNI Law, the main points of Halkis' lawsuit were widely discussed in the revision of the TNI Law which is currently being implemented in the DPR-RI. One of them is the increasing rights of TNI soldiers to occupy public or civilian positions. Active TNI positions in certain ministries/institutions have actually been regulated in the TNI Law. There are 10 ministries/institutions that are allowed, such as the Coordinator for Political and Security Affairs, the President's Military Secretary, State Defense, State Intelligence, State Cryptography, National Resilience Institute, National Defense Council, National Search and Rescue (SAR), National Narcotics, and the Supreme Court. However, in the rolling of the TNI Law Revision, the positions that can be held by active soldiers have increased to 16. 

Tag: Constitutional Court Indonesian National Army TNI