Six chief justice candidates undergo final selection<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Six candidates for Supreme Court chief justice
\nundergoing a final test by the Commission II of the House of
\nRepresentatives on Wednesday, pledged to improve the poor image
\nof the Supreme Court, by among other things, dismissing bad
\nsupreme court justices.<\/p>\n
Questioned one by one on an alphabetic basis, the chief
\njustices were asked various questions from the members of
\nCommission II, dealing with domestic and legal affairs, on their
\nvision if they were elected Supreme Court chief justice.<\/p>\n
However, Commission II chairman Amin Aryoso asked all the
\ncandidates for their comments about Daniel S. Lev's statement
\nthat reforming the Supreme Court meant dismissing all the current
\nsupreme court justices.<\/p>\n
Daniel S. Lev is an American expert on Indonesia.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid's preference Benjamin
\nMangkoedilaga agreed that dismissing unscrupulous chief justices
\nwas part of internal reform agenda in the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
"However, if all the chief justices fail fair and appropriate
\ntests, and the people want them all to be dismissed, why not?"
\nBenjamin said.<\/p>\n
He stressed the judge's morality was the key to reform the
\nSupreme Court, not their salary and facilities.<\/p>\n
If he was elected to head the Supreme Court, he would start
\nwith 'repairing' the system and, at the same time, selecting
\n'good' chief justices.<\/p>\n
"I promise I'll do my best in reforming the Supreme Court
\nwithin two years," said the 63-year old Benjamin, who, according
\nto the law, should retire in two years.<\/p>\n
Benjamin gained popularity in 1995 when, as the presiding
\njudge at the Jakarta State Administrative Court, he favored Tempo
\nmagazine in the case against the government over the government's
\nban.<\/p>\n
Conscience<\/p>\n
Another candidate, a Bandung-based constitutional law
\nprofessor Bagir Manan disagreed with Daniel S. Lev's idea, saying
\nthat not all chief justice are bad. "Some of them still have
\ncommon sense and a good conscience."<\/p>\n
Artidjo Alkostar, another candidate from Yogyakarta, supported
\nBagir's view that some of the current 51 chief justices should
\nretain their posts as they were good enough.<\/p>\n
Artidjo, former chief of the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute
\n(LBH), won full support from his former institute.<\/p>\n
In its letter on Wednesday to the central board of the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), LBH
\nYogyakarta urged that the party's faction at the House name
\nArtidjo as chief justice.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Muladi, another candidate from the Golkar Party,
\ntold the House that he preferred reforming the Supreme Court
\nthrough a systemic approach, to dismissing chief justices.<\/p>\n
"The Supreme Court has been suffering damage in its working
\nsystem, so it needs a new approach to mend it," said Muladi who
\nwas former Justice Minister during former president Soeharto and
\nHabibie's term of office.<\/p>\n
The Wednesday hearing was attended by several noted lawyers,
\nincluding Muladi's aides Hotma Sitompul, Ruhut Sitompul and Tommy
\nSihotang who grouped in a defense team of the Indonesian Military
\n(TNI)\/Police in human right abuses case in East Timor.<\/p>\n
About 200 people, mostly East Timorese, wearing yellow head
\nbands reading "Vote for Muladi" went to the House. Some of them
\nsat on the balcony in the room where the House members questioned
\nthe six candidates.<\/p>\n
Muladi, Benjamin, Bagir and Artidjo were 'outsiders', who were
\ninstalled as supreme justices in July while the remaining
\ncandidates Soeharto and Tonton were all Supreme Court career
\njustices.<\/p>\n
The House will have to select the best two out of the six on
\nDec. 5 and refer them to the President, who has the prerogative
\nto select the best one. (jun\/23\/44)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/six-chief-justice-candidates-undergo-final-selection-1447893297",
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