Mahkamah Konstitusi or the Indonesian Constitutional Court was formed after the 3rd Amendment of the 1945 Constitution on 9 November 2001 and the enactment of Law No. 24 Year 2003 concerning the Constitutional Court (Constitutional Court Law) on 13 August 2003.

The Constitutional Court has a special jurisdiction, which is: 1) adjudicating judicial reviews that examine whether or not an Indonesian law is in accordance with the 1945 Constitution, 2) deciding disputes the authority of state institutions that granted by the 1945 Constitution, and 3) dissolution of political parties, and resolving disputes concerning results of public elections.

In addition, pursuant to Article 7, paragraph (1) through (5) and Article 24C (2) of the 1945 Constitution and reaffirmed by Article 10 paragraph (2) of the Constitutional Court Law, the obligation of the Constitutional Court is to give a decision on the opinion of the House that the President and/ or Vice President has violated the law, or moral turpitude, or no longer qualifies as a President and/ or Vice President.

The Constitutional Court is located at Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No. 6, Central Jakarta. The Constitutional Court building is divided into two main buildings, namely the court building for proceedings and the administrative center building.

Nine colonnaded buildings that are on the front and facing the National Monument is the court building for proceedings. The building has four floors, with the ground floor used for a hall that can be used for various events that are either organized by the Constitutional Court or other community organizations.

On this floor there is a cell phone and a bag that belonged to Prof. Dr. Jimly Asshiddiqie, SH, first Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, which was given a special glass case. These objects, although usually trivial, serve as a reminder of the first office of the Constitutional Court.

The 2nd floor of this building is the main courtroom where proceedings are conducted by a panel that consists of nine Constitutional Court Judges. To see the proceedings, you can log in the main court room or in the lobby of the main courtroom, and also on the 3rd floor. While on the 4th floor there is also a small courtroom for the preliminary hearing that are usually only attended by a panel of three Constitutional Judges.

To take a picture at the time of hearing sessions, you need to go to the 3rd floor to get permission from the court clerk, whereas to take pictures in front of the building and in the main lobby of the Constitutional Court you do not need a permission from the court clerk.

How to get here (see the route map):

From Gondangdia /Cikini go to platform 1 and  take Red Line or Blue Line heading to Jakarta Kota and stop at Juanda. Take a 25 minutes walk to the southeast

From Tanah Abang go to platform 3 and take the Yellow Line heading to Depok/Nambo/Bogor and stop at Manggarai. Go to platform 3/5 and  take Red Line or Blue Line heading to Jakarta Kota and stop at Juanda. Take a 25 minutes walk to the southeast

From Sudirman go to platform 2 and take the Yellow Line heading to Depok/Nambo/Bogor and stop at Manggarai. Go to platform 3/5 and  take Red Line or Blue Line heading to Jakarta Kota and stop at Juanda. Take a 25 minutes walk to the southeast

For a map illustration, click here, or see the map below.

Picture Credit: Picture above taken by Totok Yuliyanto for JakartaByTrain.com