Trial on IKN Law Lawsuit, Government Says It Has Involved Indigenous Communities
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The government responded to the lawsuit against the IKN Law at the Constitutional Court (MK) by affirming that the planning of the new Capital City in East Kalimantan has involved public participation.
"The master plan for the Capital City also actively and continuously involves community participation while taking into account the communities affected by the development," said Kurniawan Ariadi representing the government side during the continued session at the Constitutional Court, as quoted from the MK press release on Thursday (24/9/2026).
Kurniawan Ariadi is an Expert Staff for Institutional Relations at the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Ministry of PPN/Bappenas).
He explained that Article 37 of Law Number 3 of 2022 concerning the Capital City (IKN Law) regulates that communities can participate in the preparation for the construction, relocation, and management of IKN through public consultations, deliberations, partnerships, aspiration submissions, and other forms of community involvement.
The trial focused on testing the phrase "taking into account" in Article 21 of the IKN Law. Here is the text of the article in question.
Spatial planning, land affairs and transfer of land rights, the environment, disaster management, as well as defense and security as referred to in Articles 15 to 20 shall be carried out by taking into account and providing protection for the rights of individuals or communal rights of indigenous peoples and cultural values that reflect local wisdom.
In their argument, the petitioners claim Article 21 of the IKN Law contradicts Article 1 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution.
This is because the phrase "taking into account" reduces indigenous peoples to passive objects, offering no opportunity for them to determine the fate of their customary territories.
Regarding this argument, Kurniawan said the people's sovereignty as stated in Article 1 paragraph (2) is exercised through constitutional mechanisms via state institutions and through established democratic processes.
"People's sovereignty cannot be interpreted as requiring that every state development policy must first obtain individual or collective approval from every affected community group," Kurniawan stated.
Regarding the petitioners' argument about the implementation of the principle of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), also known as PADIATAPA, the government acknowledges and respects the unity of customary law communities along with their traditional rights as long as they remain alive and in accordance with societal development and the principles of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
"The embodiment of this principle in IKN development is stipulated in Article 21 of the Capital City Law through the obligation to take into consideration and provide protection for the rights of indigenous peoples and cultural values that reflect local wisdom," Kurniawan added.
However, the government views the existence of the FPIC principle as not implying that every state policy or action potentially impacting Indigenous Law Communities must always require collective approval as an absolute veto right.
"Within the national legal system, FPIC principles are accommodated through the state's obligation to provide adequate information, involve communities in decision-making processes, allow space for aspirations, and protect the rights and interests of affected communities according to the characteristics of the activities," Kurniawan explained.
