Constitutional Reasoning and Institutional Boundaries in Assigning Active Police Officers to Civilian Positions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28918/jhi.v24i1.03Abstract
The increasing placement of active police officers in civilian positions raises serious constitutional issues related to civilian supremacy, the neutrality of law enforcement institutions, and government accountability. Although the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia has prohibited this practice through its rulings, the constitutional reasoning and the clarity of institutional boundaries between police and civilian government functions have not been thoroughly analyzed. This study analyzes the constitutional reasoning and authority of the Constitutional Court in determining the limits of the involvement of active police officers in civilian positions, as well as its implications for the principle of separation of powers, democratic governance, and the shift in the Court's role from a negative legislator to a constitutional policy-maker. Using a normative juridical method with a statutory, conceptual, and case approach, this study finds that the Constitutional Court has adopted a substantive approach by positioning the issue of security forces as a constitutional problem through Decision Number 114/PUU-XXIII/2025. This decision has structural implications in the form of strengthening checks and balances mechanisms, increasing accountability, and preventing the politicization of security institutions. The decision also indicates a shift in the role of the Constitutional Court towards a constitutional policy-maker that contributes to the formation of public policy directions and the affirmation of state institutional boundaries. Thus, a new conception has emerged that the Constitutional Court has positioned itself as an institutional boundary-maker within the framework of constitutional governance, which emphasizes its active role in determining the boundaries of authority between state institutions.
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