Legislators: Only a few justices likely get approval

JAKARTA (JP): With two thirds of the 46 Supreme Court justice candidates screened by legislators on Sunday, early indications suggest that very few would likely be endorsed by the House of Representatives.

Such was the gravity of the situation, according to some, that some legislators were already considering asking the government to propose more candidates, indicating that those who pass the fit-and-proper-test may be even less than the 20 vacancies at the Supreme Court.

The test is a newly established procedure to screen for justices. In the past it was the Supreme Court who proposed the names which were then endorsed by the president.

Julius Usman, a member of the working committee of the House of Representatives' Commission II on home and legal affairs, said on Sunday that so far he only saw eight qualified candidates.

He did not name them, saying only that the number was equal between career judges and non-career judges.

"If the number of candidates passed does not meet the number needed, then the government should submit additional names to us to be screened again," he told journalists on the sidelines of the test which began on Friday.

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, 30 candidates has been quizzed over their vision and mission as Supreme Court justices. Their moral integrity and legal knowledge were also important components in the questioning.

"Judging from their appearance, I think only a few of them have the quality to become supreme justices," he said.

"You saw for yourself some candidates could not differentiate bribery from gifts...Some forgot the content of their oaths as judges and lacked knowledge of legal affairs," he added.

Another committee member, Panda Nababan, seemed even less enthusiastic about the candidates, maintaining that only five, in his estimation, were suitable for the job.

"Most of them are lousy," he told journalists, saying that while most seemed resolute in their convictions they were simply not well prepared.

Despite the few "successes", Panda said the screening process was laudable.

"No personal faction interest was brought into the test or the assessment proceedings. In fact, a faction which supported a candidate is usually more incessant in quizzing the candidate," he remarked.

Sunday's screening slated 11 candidates to undergo the test, including the noted Judge Benjamin Mangkoedilaga.

Former minister of justice Muladi is slated to undergo the screening on Monday, together with ten other candidates.

One notable incident on Sunday was when Judge Zulkifli Lubis admitted that he had received a Rp 3 million "gift" from a defendant in a past case.

"But it (the gift) came long after I issued the verdict. I had almost forgotten the case when the defendant gave it to me," he assured the legislators.

Working Committee Chairman Hartono Marjono refused to make an early assessment of the proceedings.

However, he indicated that the committee is ready to conduct another screening if the number of those passed was insufficient.

"It's not the number we are working on, but the quality. Even if we can only pass two candidates, they must be the best," he added.

The committee is due to present its report to the President on Tuesday. (bby)