THE INTERPRETATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S JURISDICTION UNDER SECTION 210 PARAGRAPH ONE (3) OF THE CONSTITUTION

Abstract

Section 210 paragraph one (3) of the Constitution provides that “The Constitutional Court shall have duties and powers as follows … (3) Other duties and powers as provided in the Constitution.” Such wording gives rise to the problem of whether an organic law or an ordinary act can prescribe duties and powers of the Constitutional Court, and whether such laws would be contrary to or inconsistent with the Constitution. This problem has concretely appeared in the rulings of the Constitutional Court, in which the Court has affirmed that such laws are not contrary to or inconsistent with the Constitution. However, the reasoning of the Constitutional Court in those rulings still contains certain limitations. Therefore, this article aims to study the issue in order to point out the aforementioned limitations, by examining academic documents, books, articles, and electronic media. In the end, it is concluded that such provision is not a provision that excludes the legislative power to enact laws prescribing duties and powers of the Constitutional Court beyond those provided in the Constitution. Should this issue be raised again before the Constitutional Court in the future, the Court should rely on the above reasoning to reaffirm its jurisdiction.