HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: BETWEEN CONSTITUTIONAL SUPREMACY AND PUBLIC POLICY DISHARMONY

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the constitutional status of human rights within the framework of Indonesian constitutional law and to examine the disharmony between constitutional supremacy and public policy-making practices. This research is based on the strengthening of human rights guarantees after the amendment of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (1999–2002), which marked a paradigmatic shift from government supremacy to constitutional supremacy. This research uses normative juridical methods, utilizing legal, conceptual, and analytical approaches to constitutional provisions, legal doctrines, and constitutional court decisions. These findings suggest that, at a normative level, human rights have achieved an amplified position as a constitutional right that binds all branches of state power. However, in the realm of public policy implementation, tensions remain between administrative legality and constitutional legitimacy, especially in matters concerning development policies, freedom of expression, and public participation. The study concludes that effective protection of human rights depends on the integration of constitutional supremacy in its normative, institutional, and ethical dimensions, thus ensuring that the Constitution operates as an instrument of substantive justice in a democratic state of the rule of law.