Implementation of the Annual Session of The MPR from A Constitutional Perspective

Figure Ilustration AI

FORMOSA NEWS - Medan - Legal Foundation and Constitutional Convention Underpin the Urgency of the MPR Annual Session in Indonesia. The practice of the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in Indonesia possesses a solid legal foundation and has evolved into a vital constitutional convention that safeguards popular sovereignty. This conclusion was established in a normative legal study authored by legal scholar Marzuki from Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara (UISU), alongside Muhammad Ridwan Lubis and Ahmad Rusly Purba from Universitas Muslim Nusantara (UMN) Al Washliyah. Published in the International Journal of Law Analytics in 2026, the research underscores the necessity of reinforcing the legal architecture surrounding the MPR Annual Session so that state institutions fulfill their duty to report performance transparently to the public.

The background of this research stems from the shift in the constitutional role of the MPR following the multi-phase Amendments to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. Prior to these amendments, the MPR held supreme authority as the highest state institution. However, constitutional reforms reconfigured Indonesia's governance structure into a horizontal system of checks and balances, placing the MPR on equal footing with other high state bodies, including the President, the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representative Council (DPD), the Supreme Court, and the Constitutional Court. This structural shift sparked ongoing debate among legal scholars and policymakers regarding the legitimacy and legal standing of the MPR Annual Session, particularly because the specific term "Annual Session" is not explicitly written in the text of the 1945 Constitution.

To address this constitutional ambiguity, Marzuki, Muhammad Ridwan Lubis, and Ahmad Rusly Purba conducted a normative-juridical legal study utilizing statutory, conceptual, and historical analytical approaches. The researchers analyzed primary and secondary legal sources, including the 1945 Constitution, Law No. 13 of 2019 (the MD3 Law), MPR Regulation No. 1 of 2019 on the MPR Rules of Procedure, and constitutional law doctrines on public accountability and unwritten conventions.
From their comprehensive analysis, the authors presented three core findings:

• Implicit Constitutional Mandate and Binding Convention: Although the phrase "Annual Session" does not appear verbatim in the 1945 Constitution, the session is implicitly derived from Articles 1(2), 1(3), 2, 3, and 37 regarding popular sovereignty and state governance. Furthermore, the continuous, unbroken practice of holding the session every August has solidified into a binding constitutional convention (opinio juris sive necessitatis) that must be respected to maintain orderly state administration.
  
• Institutional Forum for Public Accountability: The MPR Annual Session serves as a crucial venue where high state institutions—including the President, DPR, DPD, Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, Audit Board, and Judicial Commission—present annual performance reports to the public. Because the MPR comprises both political representatives (DPR) and regional representatives (DPD), the forum provides an efficient mechanism for unified reporting rather than requiring separate addresses to individual bodies.
  
• Imperative for Legal Reconstruction: The current legal provisions governing the operation and substance of the MPR Annual Session remain insufficient. The authors highlight that the legal framework must be strengthened to ensure that performance reporting goes beyond mere ceremonial routine, establishing genuine institutional commitment and legal clarity.
  

The implications of this study directly touch upon democratic governance and institutional reform in Indonesia. By institutionalizing the MPR Annual Session as an obligatory reporting mechanism, the public gains direct oversight of state performance, upholding the core democratic principles of transparency, responsibility, and fairness. For policymakers and legislators, the study provides a legal roadmap to formalize performance reports within the national legal framework.

Author Profile
Marzuki, S.H., M.H. Lecturer and legal scholar at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara (UISU), specializing in Constitutional Law and Administrative Law.
Muhammad Ridwan Lubis Academic and researcher at Universitas Muslim Nusantara (UMN) Al Washliyah, focusing on constitutional analysis and legal institutions.
Ahmad Rusly Purba Researcher at Universitas Muslim Nusantara (UMN) Al Washliyah, specializing in public law and governance dynamics.

Source
Marzuki, Muhammad Ridwan Lubis, Ahmad Rusly Purba. Implementation of the Annual Session of The MPR from A Constitutional Perspective. International Journal of Law Analytics (IJLA), Vol. 4, No. 2, 2026, hal. 369–380
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59890/ijla.v4i2.283
URL: https://journal.multitechpublisher.com/index.php/ijla/index