The 1949 Federal Constitution of the

United States of Indonesia The United States of Indonesia ( nl, Verenigde Staten van Indonesië, id, Republik Indonesia Serikat, abbreviated as RIS), was a short-lived federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies (exce ...

( id, Konstitusi Republik Indonesia Serikat) replaced the 1945

Constitution of Indonesia The 1945 State Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Undang-Undang Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 1945, commonly abbreviated as ''UUD 1945'' or ''UUD '45'') is the supreme law and basis for all laws of Indonesia. The constitu ...

when sovereignty was officially transferred from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

following the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference. It came into force on 27 December 1949 and was replaced by the

Provisional Constitution of 1950 The Provisional Constitution of 1950 ( id, Undang-Undang Dasar Sementara Republik Indonesia 1950, ''UUDS 1950'') replaced the Federal Constitution of 1949 when Indonesia unilaterally withdrew from the union with the Netherlands agreed at the ...

on 17 August 1950.

Background

From the day after the proclamation of Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945, the original

approved by the

Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence The Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence ( id, Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia), PPKI, ja, 独立準備委員会, Dokuritsu Junbi Iinkai, lead=yes) was a body established on 7 August 1945 to prepare for the transfer of auth ...

was in force. As the Dutch wanted to retain their colony, the

war of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of ...

broke out between Dutch forces and Indonesian republicans. However, following international pressure, negotiations took place leading to the

Linggadjati Agreement The Linggardjati Agreement (''Linggarjati'' in modern Indonesian spelling) was a political accord concluded on 15 November 1946 by the Dutch administration and the unilaterally declared Republic of Indonesia in the village of Linggarjati, Kuning ...

to establish a federal United States of Indonesia. A constitutional assembly would be established and the Indonesian side would start work on a constitution for the new state. Following the January 1948

Renville Agreement The Renville Agreement was a United Nations Security Council-brokered political accord between the Netherlands, which was seeking to re-establish its colony in South East Asia, and Indonesian Republicans seeking for Indonesian independence dur ...

, Dutch and Republican committees both presented drafts. The Indonesian committee, chaired by

Soepomo Soepomo (EYD: Supomo; 22 January 1903 – 12 September 1958) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer who served as the country's first Minister of Justice from August until November 1945 and again from December 1949 until 6 September 1950. K ...

, produced a document that was very different from the 1945 Constitution as it contained human rights guarantees and provided for a bicameral system of government, with a senate and a lower chamber. By the end of March, the two sides were almost completely in agreement. However, the Republican side wanted a dominant role within the federal state, while the Dutch wanted a greater role for the non-Republic states. In the run up to the

Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference The Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference was held in The Hague from 23 August to 2 November 1949, between representatives of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Indonesia and the Federal Consultative Assembly, representing ...

at which the Dutch would hand over sovereignty to the

(RUSI),

Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung ( Old Spelling: Ide Anak Agoeng Gde Agoeng; 21 July 1921 – 22 April 1999), alternatively spelled too as Ida Anak Agung Gde Agung, was an Indonesian ethnic- Balinese politician, historian, and National Hero, who was the ...

, prime minister of the

State of East Indonesia The State of East Indonesia ( id, Negara Indonesia Timur, old spelling: ''Negara Indonesia Timoer'', nl, Oost-Indonesië) was a post– World War II state formed in the eastern half of Dutch East Indies. Established in December 1946, it becam ...

, one of the non-Republic states, invited future RUSI government officials to attend an Inter-Indonesia Conference to agree on a negotiating position. Two such conferences were held, in July and August 1949. The delegates agreed on the basic principles and outline for the Federal Constitution.

Content

The constitution had 197 articles in six main sections:

Enactment and abrogation

The 1949 Federal Constitution came into force with the formal handing over of sovereignty to the newly established United States of Indonesia on 27 December 1949. However, in the following eight months, the various states and autonomous regions dissolved themselves into the largest state, the

Republic of Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...

. On 17 August 1950, the United States of Indonesia was officially dissolved by President

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

and replaced by a

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation In mathematics, a unitary representation of a grou ...

with a new provisional constitution.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Federal Constitution Of 1949 Politics of Indonesia

Legal history of Indonesia 1949 documents