Supreme Court Justice Selection Tightened, KY Relies on Public Input and Investigations

JAKARTA - The Judicial Commission (KY) is strengthening public involvement and layered verification in the selection process for Supreme Court justice candidates and ad hoc judges as an effort to ensure the integrity, track records, and quality of candidates are comprehensively screened.

“First and foremost, we hope for input from the public and public information, because that is where the important assessment lies; the integrity aspect is extremely important,” said KY member and Chair of the Judge Recruitment Sector Andi Muhammad Asrun in Jakarta on Tuesday (21/4/2026).

He explained that public input is a crucial component in the assessment, particularly for testing the integrity aspect that is not always detected through administrative documents.

He stated that public information, including track records, backgrounds, and behaviour of candidates, will be verified through the KY’s internal investigation mechanism to maintain objectivity and accuracy.

KY also guarantees full protection for whistleblowers to encourage public participation without fear.

“What is certain is that every piece of information, its source will definitely be protected by us. That is already guaranteed,” he said.

In addition to relying on public reports, KY conducts additional verification through administrative and investigative tracing, including assessing the consistency of track records and the development of candidates’ profiles.

Asrun acknowledged the KY’s limitations in reaching all backgrounds of candidates, so public involvement becomes an important factor in strengthening the selection process.

He added that the selection still prioritises quality and integrity standards, including long experience requirements in the legal field as an indicator of candidates’ professional capacity.

“All prospective Supreme Court justice participants are selected based on quality and integrity,” he said.

The results of KY’s selection will then be submitted to the House of Representatives to undergo fitness and propriety tests.

Asrun assessed that the DPR will also conduct further probing before making decisions.

“The DPR will certainly accept or reject, but before that, they will definitely dig deeper first,” he said.