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View all search resultsCourt ruling raises further questions over Nusantara’s future
Constitutional Court justices have asserted that the capital city status can only be transferred after a presidential decree mandating the handover has been issued, thus retaining Jakarta’s status as Indonesia’s capital for now.
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Clouds float above the Presidential Palace building on Aug. 17, 2025, before a ceremony marking Indonesia's 80th Independence Day at the Ceremonial Plaza in future capital Nusantara, East Kalimantan. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
T
he Constitutional Court has reaffirmed Jakarta remains the country’s capital until a decree is issued to formally transfer its status to Nusantara in East Kalimantan, further raising questions over the project’s slowed down development under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.
At a hearing on Tuesday, Constitutional Court justices rejected a judicial review petition against the 2022 Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Law that argued the regulation as well as the 2024 Jakarta Special Region Law had created legal uncertainty over Jakarta’s constitutional status as the nation’s capital.
Chief Justice Suhartoyo said the petition was entirely rejected following deliberations by all nine constitutional justices.
The petitioner, identified only as a doctor named Zulkifli, argued that Article 39 of the IKN Law stipulating Jakarta maintaining the capital status until the issuance of a presidential decree was inconsistent with Article 2 of the 2024 Jakarta Law, which changes the city’s designation from “Special Capital Region” to “Special Jakarta Region”.
In their consideration, the justices said the first paragraph of Article 39 clearly stipulated the position, function and role of the capital would remain in Jakarta until the issuance of a presidential decree to transfer the capital status to Nusantara.
Read also: Nusantara’s sunken ground
The court also said Article 2 of the 2024 law must be interpreted together with its Article 73, which states the law only comes into effect once the sitting president issues a decree on the capital’s transfer.
