Sarwata replaces Soerjono

Sarwata replaces Soerjono

JAKARTA (JP): Deputy Chief Justice for Military Tribunals
Sarwata will be the next chief justice, replacing Soerjono who is
retiring tomorrow, an informed source said yesterday.

"There was a letter of notification on Tuesday from the state
secretary, in which Sarwata and T.H. Ketut Suraputra had been
respectively named as chief and vice chief justice," the source,
who asked for anonymity, told The Jakarta Post.

Sarwata, 61, shot to prominence when he led a team in the
investigation of alleged collusion in the highest judicial
institution early this year. Suraputra, 60, was also one of the
team.

Suraputra, the incumbent deputy chief justice for the State
Administrative court, is taking over the post left by Muhammad
Djaelani who retired last month.

Soerjono will lead a ceremony today to bid farewell to
Djaelani and several other justices.

The House of Representatives earlier this month proposed
Sarwata and Justice Suwardi Martowirono for the chief justice
post, and Saraputra and Chabib Sjarbini for the post of vice
chief justice.

The Supreme Court is currently swamped by a backlog of 20,000
cases, straining its performance so much that there has been
sharp criticism about it no longer functioning as a judicial
institution which provides simple, speedy and cheap legal
processing. (26)