Two senior judges to vie for post of Chief Justice<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) yesterday
\nnominated two respected, senior justices to replace Purwoto
\nSuhadi Gandasubrata as chief of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
The candidates are Mohammad Djaelani, currently the vice to
\nthe chief justice, and Suryono, the deputy chief justice in
\ncharge of traditional civil cases.<\/p>\n
Their names will be submitted to President Soeharto, who will
\nselect one of them to fill the highest level vacancy in the
\nIndonesian judicial system.<\/p>\n
The nominations were presented during a House plenary session
\nchaired by Deputy Speaker Ismail Hasan Metareum of the United
\nDevelopment Faction (F-PPP).<\/p>\n
Chief Justice Purwoto, who was appointed to head the Supreme
\nCourt in June 1992, will retire from office when he turns 65 on
\nOct. 11.<\/p>\n
The favorite to be appointed is Djaelani, who was also
\nnominated for the post two years ago.<\/p>\n
A native of Wirengan, Central Java, he is a retired army major
\ngeneral and a graduate of the Military Law University.<\/p>\n
Djaelani built his career in the military court as a
\nprosecutor. He also served as director of the Military Law
\nAcademy and the Military Law University.<\/p>\n
He rose to public prominence when in 1991, as a member of the
\nSupreme Court, he was appointed to head the national commission
\nto investigate the bloody clashes between the military and East
\nTimor demonstrators, an incident that sparked an international
\noutcry.<\/p>\n
Suryono, who will 63 next month, hails from Solo, Central
\nJava. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of
\nIndonesia in 1956 and took advanced courses on human rights in
\n1971 and administrative law in 1990.<\/p>\n
He began his career as a government prosecutor and later as a
\na judge. He joined the Supreme Court in 1992 as Deputy Chief
\nJustice in charge of Traditional Civil Cases.<\/p>\n
Whoever is selected by President Soeharto, he will serve only
\nfor two years because the mandatory retirement age remains 65.<\/p>\n
Most DPR members privately said they prefer Djaelani because
\nof his vast experience and seniority in rank.<\/p>\n
Suhardi, chairman of the DPR's Commission III, which deals
\nwith legal affairs, said Djaelani's current position as the
\nDeputy Chief Justice as well as his experience in probing the
\nDili incident are factors in his favor.<\/p>\n
Promoted<\/p>\n
Handjojo Putro of the Indonesian Democratic Party faction (F-
\nPDI) agreed that Djaelani should get the job. \"There's a
\ntradition here that the vice chief justice is promoted.\"<\/p>\n
Soesanto Bangoennagoro, a legislator of the Golkar faction,
\nsaid both candidates have an equal opportunity because they are
\nboth senior justices with much experience and equal capacity in
\ndealing with legal matters.<\/p>\n
Suryono appears to have won the support of most legal
\npractitioners as most have stressed the need for a career judge
\nto fill the post.<\/p>\n
Harjono Tjitrosoebono, a respected lawyer, said the next chief
\njustice will have plenty of homework to do, including clearing up
\nthe backlog of appeal cases.<\/p>\n
This requires a chief justice who has been a long time judge,
\nHarjono said.<\/p>\n
Harjono declined to specifically state his preference between
\nthe two, stressing that the most important thing is that the next
\nchief justice fight for the independence of the Supreme Court and
\nall the lower courts. \"The public is demanding an independent
\nSupreme Court, one that is free of the government's influence,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Trimoelja D. Soerjadi, a Surabaya-based lawyer who has handled
\na number of controversial cases, was more forthright in stressing
\nhis preference for Suryono because he has been a judge longer
\nthan Djaelani.<\/p>\n
Trimoelja also emphasized the need for an independent chief
\njustice, to ensure that the judicial branch is totally
\nindependent of the executive branch. (02)<\/p>",
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