Indonesia's Supreme Court Voids Gibran's School Equivalency Certificate as Plaintiff Urges Resignation

Court overturns earlier decisions on education document

Indonesia's Supreme Court granted a challenge on October 30, 2026, to the validity of the foreign secondary education equivalency certificate used by Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka to register for the 2024 presidential election, overturning earlier administrative court decisions and granting the plaintiff's lawsuit in full.

The case concerns Certificate No. 9149/D.D1/KS/2019, issued by the Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education on August 6, 2019. The lawsuit sought to have that document declared invalid and legally void, retrieved from whoever holds it and destroyed.

The ruling, numbered 742 K/TUN/2026, immediately sharpened a dispute over the consequences for Gibran. Subhan, the lawyer who brought the case, urged him to resign. Ade Darmawan, secretary general of the lawyers' association Peradi Bersatu, said the cancellation of an administrative document would leave the vice president's position, rights and responsibilities intact.

The Supreme Court panel was chaired by Yulius, with Maftuh Effendi and Hari Sugiharto serving as the other judges. Its decision reversed the outcome reached by the Jakarta State Administrative Court and upheld on appeal.

At the centre of the dispute is a document connecting Gibran's education abroad with Indonesia's minimum education requirement for presidential and vice presidential candidates. The competing responses concern two different decisions: the court's cancellation of that document and the plaintiff's demand that Gibran leave office.

What the certificate was used for

The Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education issued the certificate in Jakarta in 2019. It recognised Gibran's education abroad as equivalent to Indonesian senior secondary education, commonly known by the abbreviation SMA.

An equivalency certificate allows an education authority to recognise schooling completed under another country's education system. Here, the document mattered because Gibran used it when registering as a vice presidential candidate for the 2024 election alongside Prabowo Subianto.

Article 169(r) of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections sets the minimum education requirement for presidential and vice presidential candidates at senior secondary school level or its equivalent. That requirement explains why a certificate issued in 2019 became the subject of litigation years later.

Subhan challenged the government's administrative act of issuing the certificate. The respondent in the Supreme Court proceedings was the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, through its secretary general.

How Subhan secured a reversal

Subhan brought the administrative lawsuit under case No. 62/G/2026/PTUN.JKT. The Jakarta State Administrative Court initially declared his lawsuit inadmissible, and the administrative appeals court upheld that outcome.

An inadmissibility decision means a court has declined to accept a lawsuit for consideration in the form presented. A cassation appeal asks the Supreme Court to review the lower courts' application of law. Subhan pursued that route after his appeal failed.

The Supreme Court's operative decision granted cassation, overturned the lower courts' decisions and decided the case itself by granting the plaintiff's claims in full. This changed the result from an unsuccessful challenge in the lower courts to a victory for Subhan.

His requested remedies were specific: declare the certificate invalid and legally void, order its retrieval and destruction, and require the defendant to pay the case costs. The public account of the decision gives the outcome but leaves the court's detailed reasoning, implementation timetable and the ministry's compliance steps unspecified. No response from Gibran or the ministry was included.

The dates behind the dispute

The litigation developed through several proceedings over more than a year. Subhan also brought a civil lawsuit concerning the validity of Gibran's secondary education diploma before pursuing the administrative case that reached the Supreme Court.

• August 6, 2019: The Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education issued the disputed equivalency certificate.
• 2024: Gibran used the certificate to register as a vice presidential candidate.
• August 29, 2025: Subhan filed civil case No. 583/Pdt.G/2025 at the Central Jakarta District Court.
• May 21, 2026: The Jakarta State Administrative Court issued the decision later upheld on appeal.
• August 2026: Subhan pursued an appeal in the administrative court system.
• September 23, 2026: The Supreme Court received the cassation filing.
• October 8, 2026: The Supreme Court registered the case.
• October 30, 2026: The case was recorded as distributed, and the Supreme Court granted cassation.

The civil and administrative cases involved different legal routes. The successful cassation arose from the administrative lawsuit against the education ministry over its certificate.

Why Subhan is calling for resignation

Subhan interpreted the declaration that the certificate was invalid as meaning the document had never legally existed. Speaking on October 30, he connected that interpretation directly to his demand for Gibran's departure.

Subhan, the plaintiff and lawyer who brought the challenge, expressed his conclusion in these words:

Suket itu tidak pernah ada karena dinyatakan tidak sah ya. Kalau dampak lainnya, Gibran ya harus mundur. Itu aja,

In English, he said the certificate had never existed because it had been declared invalid, and that Gibran should therefore resign. His remarks moved beyond the remedy sought against the education ministry and called for a personal decision by the vice president.

Subhan's position makes the certificate's role in candidate registration central to the political argument. He is asking Gibran to accept resignation as the consequence of losing the document used to support his education credentials.

A lawyers' association official sees a different outcome

Ade Darmawan, secretary general of Peradi Bersatu, offered the opposite assessment on October 30. He said invalidating a government document would leave Gibran's constitutional position and responsibilities in place.

Ade explained his view of the effect on the office of vice president:

Kita ketahui semua bahwa apa pun terkait putusan itu tidak akan mempengaruhi jabatan wapres dalam hal ini. Dikarenakan bahwa putusan gugurnya satu surat tidak menggugurkan hak dan tanggung jawab seorang wakil presiden,

In English, Ade said the ruling would not affect the vice presidency because the cancellation of one document would not cancel a vice president's rights and responsibilities. He argued that the constitutional legitimacy of Prabowo and Gibran's election had already been settled by the Constitutional Court.

The two courts have different responsibilities. The Supreme Court reviewed the administrative dispute over the ministry's certificate. The Constitutional Court handles disputes over presidential election results. Ade's argument places the status of the office within that constitutional framework, while Subhan's appeal asks Gibran to step down voluntarily.

Earlier findings had already prompted pressure

The dispute had generated demands for resignation before the Supreme Court decision. A group representing 150 Indonesian professors made an earlier resignation appeal in an open letter dated October 19, addressed to President Prabowo and former president Joko Widodo, Gibran's father.

The Indonesian Professors Forum connected its appeal to Constitutional Court case No. 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026, whose ruling was read on October 6. The academics argued that questions surrounding the education documents carried ethical consequences even though Gibran had not been disqualified.

The education dispute includes a finding attributed to Constitutional Court judges that they had not found evidence of the foreign secondary school diploma underlying the equivalency certificate. The professors focused on the court's treatment of the documents and called for a voluntary resignation.

Hasanuddin University professor Idrus Paturusi said 13 academics initiated the letter, with professors signing on behalf of a wider group of 150. Professor Ryaas Rasyid was also identified as an initiator. Both men are from South Sulawesi.

The professors' appeal and Subhan's response now converge on the same proposed action: a voluntary departure. Any attempt to remove a president or vice president through constitutional procedures would follow a separate process involving the House of Representatives, known as the DPR.

Another lawsuit concerns the same certificate

PT Mercy Toga Kirana also challenged the equivalency certificate at the Jakarta State Administrative Court. One of its requested remedies was cancellation of the same document.

The company recently announced that it was withdrawing its lawsuit because it considered the education ministry to have failed to show documents it had requested. The announcement came while proceedings were still described as ongoing.

The company's action and Subhan's successful cassation therefore reached different procedural stages. Subhan obtained a Supreme Court decision, while PT Mercy Toga Kirana announced a move to end its own proceedings.

For the ministry, the immediate issue is carrying out the judgment concerning the certificate it issued. For Gibran, the political pressure now includes a successful administrative challenge alongside the professors' appeal. Ade maintains that his position in office continues, while Subhan argues that resignation should follow.

Key Points

• The Supreme Court granted Subhan's cassation on October 30, 2026, in case No. 742 K/TUN/2026.
• The dispute concerns a secondary education equivalency certificate issued on August 6, 2019, and used for Gibran's 2024 candidacy.
• The court overturned the lower decisions and granted the lawsuit in full.
• Subhan called on Gibran to resign. Peradi Bersatu secretary general Ade Darmawan said the ruling would leave his position intact.
• A group representing 150 professors had already appealed for Gibran's voluntary resignation.
• PT Mercy Toga Kirana announced plans to withdraw another lawsuit concerning the same certificate.