Fair election of deputy justices urged

JAKARTA: A coalition of several non-governmental organizations urged the Supreme Court on Friday to quickly and fairly elect two deputy chief justices, posts which have been vacant for over a year.

The recently amended Law No. 14/1985 on the Supreme Court stipulates that the chief justice has two deputies, with one handling judicial affairs and the other non-judicial affairs. They will be elected by the justices.

Spokesman for the coalition, Firmansyah Arifin, said the Supreme Court had to select the two deputies in a transparent manner and involve public participation in line with the regulations and laws.

"We hope the Supreme Court does not think the selection of their deputy chief justices is something only they need to worry about. The posts are very important, therefore the public has the right to expect that the selection runs properly," he told reporters after a meeting with Chief Justice Bagir Manan.

Bagir, he said, accepted the suggestion.

The election of the two powerful Supreme Court officials will take place in February.

Justice Mariana Sutadi, the deputy chief justice for supervisory affairs and Justice Parman Suparman have been touted as the most likely candidates for the posts. Parman is one of the five judges who is hearing the appeal filed by House Speaker Akbar Tandjung. -- JP