Indonesia, West Papua – Indonesia's Constitutional Court rejected formal review petitions challenging Law No. 3/2025 on the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), ruling that the legislative process did not violate the 1945 Constitution despite procedural controversies and widespread criticism from civil society organizations (CSOs), academics, and students.
The decision allows the amended TNI Law to remain legally binding, but four of nine judges issued dissenting opinions. They argued that the Court should have granted petitions due to formal defects in the lawmaking process, including inadequate public participation and violations of transparency requirements. The majority of judges ruled that the TNI Bill was properly registered in the National Legislation Programme as a carry-over from previous legislative sessions, discussions were transparent and accountable, with civil society involvement. They represented the view that there were no restrictions on public access to documents.
The CSOs that filed petitions expressed strong disappointment with the ruling, warning of serious implications for Indonesian democracy and civilian oversight of the military. Muhammad Isnur from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), representing the Advocacy Team for Security Sector Reform, argued the Constitutional Court "failed to be a council that clearly and transparently saw the issues surrounding the revision of the TNI Law."
Ten formal review petitions were filed by CSOs, academics, and university students from institutions including University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, Padjadjaran University, and others, all arguing that the TNI Law revision violated constitutional principles through five main issues: misalignment with post-1998 TNI reform agenda, improper carry-over designation, illegal inclusion in the 2025 Priority National Legislation Programme without prior registration, deliberate exclusion of public participation creating accountability failures, and intentional withholding of revision documents preventing public access and monitoring.
The petitioners documented that meetings formulating the revision were held secretly in closed rooms, criticism from civil society and academics was ignored, and even after enactment on 26 March 2025, documents remained unpublished on official DPR and government channels. Between March and May 2025, parties involved in filing formal reviews experienced systematic intimidation including visits by unknown individuals to the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) office, digital terror traced to Kodam Jaya intelligence units, military tactical vehicles stopping outside CSO offices to record activities, military summons of Student Executive Board members at Jenderal Soedirman University demanding apologies for protesting the law, TNI visits to discussion events at Walisongo State Islamic University, military patrols at University of Indonesia campus after protests, and intimidation of students' families by individuals claiming affiliation with Military Resort Commands requesting personal documents.