Legal Constraints on the Enforcement of Covid-19 Health Protocol in Indonesia

Abstract

The positive number of Covid-19 in Indonesia continues to increase and there are no signs of decreasing.
This increase was triggered by the implementation of the new normal, long holidays and uncontrolled
crowds. And none of this is accompanied by enforcement of health protocol laws (wearing masks, washing
hands, maintaining distance and not crowding). This paper examines the legal constraints of enforcing health
protocols with normative legal method through library research. The results of his research show firstly, the
absence of positive laws that can be used as the basis for law enforcement of health protocols, causing bias in
its implementation and health protocols regulated by the Minister of Health Regulation which is not part of the
source of positive Indonesian law. Second, the recently issued legal regulations to regulate the enforcement
of health protocols are not in accordance with the legal hierarchy prevailing in the Indonesian legal system.
Third, specifically for crowd management, the police did not use their authority in accordance with the
Criminal Code because it was not prepared to control the Covid-19 crowd, causing multiple interpretations
and becoming polemic in the political realm. This study suggests that the Government of Indonesia enact a
Government Regulation in Lieu of a Law on Health Protocol Enforcement and provide additional authority
to regional heads (governors and regents/mayors) in determining disaster emergencies to also issue regional
head regulations in lieu of regional regulations and so that district governments/city and province to propose
regent/mayor and governor regulations to become regional regulations that get parliamentary approval.