The Constitutional Court and Minority Rights: Analysing the Recent Homosexual Sex and Indigenous Belief Cases

Abstract

This chapter focuses on two Constitutional Court cases handed down in late 2017 involving two other broad minority groups, upon whose interests the Constitutional Court had not previously adjudicated. These cases drew significant public attention and controversy but very little has yet been written about them. The first of these cases touched upon the interests of some of Indonesia's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community, which has suffered increasing intolerance in recent years (Firdaus 2018; see also Chapter 7 by Wieringa and Chapter 8 by Wijaya in this book). In December 2017 the court handed down its decision in a case brought by members of a conservative Muslim group, the Family Love Alliance (Aliansi Cinta Keluarga, AILA). Among other things, they challenged Article 292 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits ‘indecent activities’ (perbuatan cabul) with a minor of the same gender as the perpetrator.