PENYIMPANGAN DISKRESI HAKIM KONSTITUSI DALAM PUTUSAN MAHKAMAH NO.90/PUU-XXI/2023

Abstract

In a modern rule of law state, Judicial power plays a fundamental role in ensuring the supremacy of the constitution and protecting the Constitutional Rights of Citizens.The principles is affirmed in Undang Undang Number 48 of 2009, which states that judicial power is an independence authority exercised to administer justice in order to uphold law and fairness. Within the Indonesia Constitutional System, the authority to review the constitutionality of laws is vested in the Mahkamah Konstitusi as the guardian of the constitution. However, the practice of judicial review often gives rise to debate when the court not only assesses the constitutionality of legal norms but also formulates new interpretations that effectively lead to the creation of legal norms. This controversy is evidence in Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 90/PUU-XXI/2023 as open legal policy which introduced a new interpretation of the age requirement for Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates as regulated in article 169 letter (q) of Undang Undang Nomor 7 of 2017. The decision has sparked widespread debate because it allows individuals under the age of forty to run for Vice President, provided that they have previously held an elected public office. The controversy intensified due to allegations of the conflict of interest and dynasticity politism, involving the Chief Justice Anwar Usman as the family member of the newest Vice President who won in the 2024 election. This phenomenon raises fundamental questions regarding the limits of constitutional judges authority in interpreting Legal Norms as well as the potential misuse of Judicial Discretion in the practice of judicial.