The Constitutional Court Hands-Down Decision in the Judicial Review of the Forestry Law

The Constitutional Court has recently handed-down its decision in a case seeking the judicial review of the Forestry Law (Law No. 41 of 1999 as amended by Law No. 19 of 2004), particularly Article 78(15) and the associated Elucidation of this Article. The Article relates to tools and equipment used in the forestry industry sector and was bought by a finance company, PT. Astra Sedaya Finance, claiming that the Article breached constitutional rights guaranteed under Articles 28D(1), 28G(1), and 28H(4) of the 1945 Constitution.

The Court needed to establish a number of factors prior to addressing the substance of the Applicant's submissions. The Court has established that there are 5 basic conditions that must be satisfied by an applicant evidencing the requisite legal standing to bring a matter; namely, a constitutional right; the breach of that right by the law subject to review; special or actual loss or evidence of a likely potential loss; a link between the law and the loss; and, that the granting of the petition will result in the removal of any ongoing breach.