The Constitutional Court Rejects Alexander Marwata's Lawsuit Regarding KPK Leadership Rules To Meet The Beperkara Party

Constitutional Court (MK) Building in Jakarta. (ANTARA-Maria Rosari)

JAKARTA - The Constitutional Court (MK) has decided to reject the application of former Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Alexander Marwata regarding the judicial review of Article 36 letter a of Law Number 19 of 2019 concerning the KPK which regulates the provisions prohibiting KPK leaders from dealing with corruption suspects.

"Refuse the petitioner I in its entirety," said Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Suhartoyo reading the verdict No. 158/PUU-XXII/2024 in the Plenary Court Session Room, Jakarta, Thursday, January 2, was confiscated by Antara.

The article questioned by Alex Marwata completely reads "KPK leaders are prohibited from having direct or indirect relationships with suspects or other parties who are related to corruption cases handled by the KPK for any reason."

In this case, Alex Marwata asked the Constitutional Court that the article be deleted or changed to a 'promoting direct or indirect relationship with the suspect or representing him with the intention of easing it.'

In considering the decision, the Constitutional Court stated that the existence of Article 36 letter a of the KPK Law could actually be a guarantee instrument to oversee the specificity and muruah of the KPK institution.

According to the Constitutional Court, considering the characteristics of the KPK which can be categorized as an extraordinary function, the institution should be run by leaders who have integrity, loyalty, and high service values.

"In fact, the level should be higher than the average compared to other law enforcement elements," said Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat reading out the considerations of the decision.

Therefore, according to the Court, the norm of Article 36 letter a of the KPK Law is an important and fundamental norm to be a reference for KPK leaders and can be an early warning system instrument for all KPK leaders.

In addition, the Constitutional Court also emphasized that the starting point for the potential for a case of alleged corruption is when there are reports or complaints from the public that have been reported to the KPK leadership.

This means that when a public complaint has been submitted and has been forwarded to the leadership, since then it has also become the starting point for the KPK leadership not to be directly related or not to parties that have the potential to become suspects or other parties related to cases reported by the public.

The Court concluded that Alex's main petition was legally groundless. Therefore, the Constitutional Court rejected the former Deputy Chairperson of the KPK's request in its entirety.

In this case, Alex Marwata is the applicant I, while the Deputy Auditor of the KPK, Lies Kartika Sari, is the applicant II and the executor of the KPK Leadership Secretariat Unit Maria Fransiska as the applicant III. However, the Constitutional Court stated that applicants II and III did not have legal standings.