Six accept Supreme Court nominations
Six accept Supreme Court nominations
JAKARTA (JP): At least six people have accepted the
government's offer to nominate them as supreme justices to the
Supreme Court.
The six are former judge Benjamin Mangkoedilaga, lawyers
Todung Mulya Lubis and Ronggur Hutagalung, constitutional law
professor Bagir Manan, legal expert Rizal Kabah and former
chairman of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute Abdurrahman Saleh.
"We've contacted them. They accepted the nomination," Minister
of Law and Legal Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra said here on
Monday.
He said other candidates the government wanted to nominate
could not yet be contacted. For example Yogyakarta-based
Indonesian Islamic University rector Mahfud MD because he was
away on the Haj pilgrimage.
According to Yusril the government planned to nominate a total
of 20 candidates to the Supreme Court who are noncareer justices.
"Ten people are legal practitioners and the remaining are
legal experts," he added.
Yusril said the government did not nominate former justice
minister Muladi as the Golkar Party has already indicated that
they would nominate him through the House of Representatives.
But the chairman of the National Awakening Party's (PKB)
faction at the House, Taufiqurrahman Saleh, rejected the idea of
nominating Muladi, saying that the close B.J. Habibie associate
was linked to the past regime.
Furthermore, Taufiqurrahman said it would not be prudent to
nominate the legal consultant for military officers alleged to be
responsible for human rights abuses in East Timor.
The Supreme Court itself last week submitted a list of 24
candidates to the House, without Benjamin's name.
Several senior justices at the Supreme Court earlier
threatened to quit, saying that Benjamin was "too junior".
President Abdurrahman Wahid has repeatedly expressed his
intention to nominate Benjamin, who was known for rejecting a ban
on the Tempo weekly magazine by the government under former
president Soeharto, in a bid to clean and reform the Supreme
Court which is considered by many as a fertile breeding ground
for corruption and collusion practices. (jun)