Comparative Judicial Review of Emergency Declarations in Canada and Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35586/icjls.v2i1.14893Keywords:
Judicial Review, Emergency Powers, Perppu, Emergencies Act, Comparative LawAbstract
Abstract: This normative legal research examines the structural challenges of judicial review over executive emergency powers by comparing Canada’s Emergencies Act of 1988 and Indonesia’s Government Regulations instead of Laws (Perppu) under Article 22 of the 1945 Constitution. The analysis reveals that Canadian federal courts apply a rigorous reasonableness standard based on strict intelligence thresholds, effectively maintaining constitutional boundaries and providing retroactive remedial relief. Conversely, the Constitutional Court’s judicialization of emergency powers in Indonesia suffers from systemic paralysis. This weakness stems from the strict application of the mootness doctrine when a Perppu is rapidly enacted into law, paired with the prospective nature of the Court’s rulings, which leaves a remedial vacuum for human rights violations. Ultimately, this study argues that Indonesia must reform its procedural framework by decoupling judicial timelines from legislative ratification and introducing interim measures to prevent the normalisation of executive exceptionalism.
Keywords: Judicial Review, Emergency Powers, Perppu, Emergencies Act, Comparative Law
Downloads
References
Undang-Undang Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 1945
Undang-Undang Nomor 23/Prp/1959 tentang keadaan bahaya
Peraturan Pemerintah Pengganti Undang-Undang (Perppu) Nomor 4 Tahun 2009
Emergencies Act 1988
Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act 1984
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Adams, Eric M. “Emergency Powers and Constitutionalism in Canada.” University of New Brunswick Law Journal 73 (2022): 1–20.
Ait-Aoudia, B. M. (2025). Legal certainty in times of crises. Statute Law Review, 46(3), hmaf026
Azzahra, S. S., & Pratama, A. B. (2025). Legal Interpretation of Constitutional Court Decision Number 24/PUU-XXII/2024 Regarding the Authority to Submit a Judicial Review in State Administrative Disputes. Manabia: Journal of Constitutional Law, 5(02), 209-228.
Forcese, Craig, and Leah West. “The Future of Canada’s Emergencies Act.” National Journal of Constitutional Law 46 (2023): 113–142.
Ginsburg, Tom, and Mila Versteeg. “The Bound Executive: Emergency Powers During the Pandemic.” International Journal of Constitutional Law 19, no. 5 (2021): 1498–1535.
Huda, Ni’matul. “Pengujian Perppu oleh Mahkamah Konstitusi [Judicial Review of Government Regulations in Lieu of Law by the Constitutional Court].” Jurnal Konstitusi 7, no. 5 (2010): 81–84.
MacDonnell, Vanessa. “The Rule of Law and Emergency Powers in Canada.” National Journal of Constitutional Law 45 (2022): 75–98.
McGinnis, R. (2024). Unjustified: The Freedom Convoy, The Emergencies Act, And The Inquiry That Got It Wrong. Sutherland House.
Redi, Ahmad, and Ibnu Sina Chandranegara. “Konstitusionalitas Peraturan Pemerintah Pengganti Undang-Undang Pasca Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 138/PUU-VII/2009 [The Constitutionality of Government Regulations in Lieu of Law Following Constitutional Court Decision Number 138/PUU-VII/2009].” Jurnal Konstitusi 17, no. 3 (2020): 474–476.
Roach, Kent. “Canadian Democracy and the Emergencies Act after the Freedom Convoy.” Constitutional Forum Constitutionnel 32, no. 1 (2023): 1–15.
Roach, Kent. “The Emergencies Act and the Freedom Convoy Protests.” Constitutional Forum Constitutionnel 31, no. 1 (2022): 45–48.
Roach, Kent. “The Freedom Convoy and the Rule of Law.” Constitutional Forum Constitutionnel 31, no. 2 (2023): 11–15.
Salman, R., Ristawati, R., & Singarimbun, B. N. (2025). Judicial Review on Health Emergency Law: The Challenge to Judicial Independence of Indonesian Constitutional Court. Jurnal Wawasan Yuridika, 9(1), 1-18.
Shah, B. (2026). Building a Protective Administrative Law Framework (Harv. CR-CL forthcoming). Boston College Law School Legal Studies Research Paper (forthcoming).
Soekanto, Soerjono, and Sri Mamudji. Penelitian Hukum Normatif: Suatu Tinjauan Singkat [Normative Legal Research: A Brief Overview]. Jakarta: Rajawali Press, 2007.
West, Leah. “National Security and the Emergencies Act: Legal Thresholds and Democratic Accountability.” Canadian Journal of Law and Society 38, no. 2 (2023): 201–220.
Yatani, V. G. (2026). Kenya’s Asylum Governance: A Critical Inquiry into Policy-Practice Continuum.
Yeager, M. G., & Chappelle, M. (2022). Restorative justice: the feasibility of alternative models of justice. Contemporary Justice Review, 25(1), 122-140.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ius Comparatum: Journal of Law Studies

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.




