Meaningful Participation as People's Sovereignty Form in Democratic Rule of Law State

JURNAL HUKUM IUS QUIA IUSTUM, (2024), pp. 337-357 ISSN 0854-8498 (Print) 2527-502X (Online) Available online 5 Agustus 2024 https://doi.org/10.20885/iustum.vol31.iss2.art5 Meaningful Participation as People's Sovereignty Form in Democratic Rule of Law State Fahmi Ramadhan Firdaus* Department of Constitutional Law, Faculty of Law University of Jember, Jawa Timur, Indonesia, , ORCID ID 0000-0003-4580-155X Ratih Listyana Chandra Department of Constitutional Law, Faculty of Law University of Jember, Jawa Timur, Indonesia, , ORCID ID 0000-0001-7435-3704 Christo Sumurung Tua Sagala Department of Constitutional Law, Faculty of Law University of Jember, Jawa Timur, Indonesia, , ORCID ID 0000-0001-6539-7262 Abstract. The Democratic Rule of Law adopted by Indonesia manifests Article 1 paragraph (2) and Article 1 paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution. This requires the public's role as the holder of supreme sovereignty in national and state life in various fields. Public participation has been practically implemented and guaranteed in statutory regulations. However, public participation is still interpreted as just a formality by stakeholders, so this causes harm to the policies implemented for the public and weakens the legitimacy of the owner of the highest sovereignty, namely the people. Constitutional Court Decision Number 91/PUUXVIII/2020 is considered a landmark decision in strengthening people's sovereignty by encouraging meaningful participation in forming statutory regulations. This decision also triggers meaningful public participation in various areas of national life and patriotism. Through a doctrinal approach, this study intends to elucidate the relationship between Meaningful Participation and the concept of a Democratic Rule of Law, as well as efforts to implement and protect meaningful public participation in state practice. The research results concludes that meaningful participation is a form of popular sovereignty to realize a substantive democratic rule of law. Public participation is important for formulating, implementing, and evaluating policies formed together with the state. Soon, Formal guidelines are needed to realize Meaningful Participation as a follow-up to Constitutional Court Decision No. 91/PUU-XVIII/2020. Keywords: Democracy, People's Sovereignty, Public Participation, Rule of Law. Abstrak. Negara Hukum berbasis Demokrasi yang dianut Indonesia terwujud dalam Pasal 1 ayat (2) dan Pasal 1 ayat (3) UUD 1945. Hal ini mensyaratkan peran serta masyarakat sebagai pemegang kedaulatan tertinggi dalam kehidupan berbangsa dan bernegara di berbagai bidang. Partisipasi masyarakat secara praktis telah terimplementasi dan terjamin dalam peraturan perundang-undangan. Akan tetapi, partisipasi masyarakat masih dimaknai hanya sebagai formalitas belaka oleh para pemangku kepentingan, sehingga hal ini menimbulkan kerugian bagi kebijakan yang dijalankan untuk masyarakat dan melemahkan legitimasi pemilik kedaulatan tertinggi, yaitu rakyat. Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 91/PUU-XVIII/2020 dinilai sebagai keputusan penting dalam memperkuat kedaulatan rakyat dengan mendorong partisipasi yang bermakna dalam pembentukan peraturan perundang-undangan. Putusan ini juga memicu partisipasi masyarakat yang bermakna dalam berbagai bidang kehidupan berbangsa dan bernegara serta menumbuhkan rasa cinta tanah air. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan doktrinal, penelitian ini bermaksud menguraikan hubungan antara Partisipasi yang Bermakna dengan konsep Negara Hukum berbasis Demokrasi, serta upaya penerapan dan perlindungan partisipasi masyarakat yang bermakna dalam praktik bernegara. Hasil penelitian menyimpulkan bahwa partisipasi yang bermakna merupakan salah satu bentuk kedaulatan rakyat untuk mewujudkan negara hukum yang demokratis dan substantif. Partisipasi publik penting untuk merumuskan, melaksanakan, dan mengevaluasi kebijakan yang dibentuk bersama negara. Dalam waktu dekat, diperlukan pedoman formal untuk mewujudkan Partisipasi yang Bermakna sebagai tindak lanjut Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 91/PUU-XVIII/2020. Kata kunci: Demokrasi, Kedaulatan Rakyat, Negara Hukum, Partisipasi Masyarakat. Submitted: 7 Februari 2024 | Reviewed: 26 Juni 2024 | Revised: 11 Juli 2024 | Accepted: 12 Juli 2024 Published by the Universitas Islam Indonesia (Indonesia). © The Author(s), 2024. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). JURNAL HUKUM IUS QUIA IUSTUM 31:2 (2024), pp. 337-357 | 338 INTRODUCTION Around 500 BC, the history of democracy was written because a small group of people in Greece and Rome began to develop government systems that gave people more opportunities to participate in decision-making. The most important developments in the history of democracy, in various texts, occurred in Europe. The word democracy comes from the ancient Greek word democracy. Plato, whose real name was Aristotle (427 – 347 BC), is often said to be the first person to introduce the word democracy, Demos meaning people and Kratos meaning government. Democracy according to Plato at that time was the achievement of a system of government regulated by philosophers. Only philosophers can generate ideas and know the choice between what is good and bad for society.1 The application of democracy in state life was first achieved in Athens's city-state (polis/civitas) in ancient Greece. 2 The democracy practiced then was direct democracy, namely civil rights politics, decisions made directly by all members of society, acting based on the majority process. Democratic norms apply only to legal citizens, who constitute a small percentage of the total population. Most of them were enslaved people, foreign traders, women and children who could not enjoy democratic rights. Today, democracy is no longer direct democracy but rather representative democracy.3 The idea of democracy itself cannot be separated from the state, because the instrument of democracy itself is the state. Socrates argued that the state is not just a necessity, but an outcome of human nature. The state must make laws, which must be done by leaders or officials elected by the people. Finally, Socrates' democratic spirit peaked. Socrates' theory of the state and democracy then continued to develop and became the basis for Plato (Socrates' student) and Aristotle (Plato's student). Plato and Aristotle themselves were not actually supporters or defenders of democracy, but instead were critics of Greek democratic practices. The ideas and concepts of these 1 Sunarso, Membedah Demokrasi : (Sejarah, Konsep, dan Implementasinya di Indonesia), Ed. 1 (UNY Press, 2015). 2 Nadrilun, Mengenal Lebih Dekat Demokrasi di Indonesia, Balai Pustaka (Jakarta: Balai Pustaka, 2012), 6. 3 Mahfud MD, Demokrasi dan Konstitusi di Indonesia (Jakarta: Rineka Cipta, 2000), 21. 339 | Meaningful Participation as People's Sovereignty Form in (...truncated)