TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - New Constitutional Court Chief Justice explains the efforts he is making to regain public trust of the Court following the Anwar Usman fiasco.

The Constitutional Court (MK) suffered a blow to its reputation when it changed the General Election Law to clear the way for Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of the incumbent President Joko Widodo, to become a vice-presidential candidate in the 2024 presidential election. The 36-year-old Gibran would not have been eligible under the previous law that stipulated the minimum age requirement of 40 years for presidential and vice-presidential candidates. However, thanks to the ruling of the judicial review trial presided by Constitutional Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman who added a phrase “or those who have been elected in the general elections,” Gibran, the Solo City Mayor, will be running in the presidential election this February.

President Jokowi pushed forward his son as the vice-presidential candidate for the presidential candidate of the Gerindra Party, Prabowo Subianto. Anwar Usman is none other than Gibran’s uncle who married Jokowi’s younger sister, Idayati, in 2022.

Since the issuance of that decision, the Constitutional Court has been ridiculed as the ‘Family Court’. The Constitutional Court’s Ethics Council (MKMK), which convened on November 7, 2023, decided to dismiss Anwar Usman from the position of Chief Justice. He was also prohibited from being involved in disputes over presidential, legislative, and regional head elections.

Nine judges of the Constitutional Court, who held deliberations two days after the MKMK decision, chose Suhartoyo as Anwar’s replacement. He is one of the four judges who expressed a different or dissenting opinion on the request to amend the General Election Law regarding the minimum age requirement for presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

Suhartoyo said the Constitutional Court should have rejected the petition because the petitioner, a Surakarta University student claiming to be Gibran’s fan, had no strong legal standing. But their dissenting voice was drowned out by the majority of five other justices who agreed to grant the petition.

During an approximately one-hour-long interview in his office on December 21, Suhartoyo explained to Tempo regarding the Constitutional Court’s ruling that undermined democracy. “You can’t shake off that shadow. We remained under suspicion in the aftermath of that ruling,” he said. This interview has been edited for flow and clarity.

What do you think has damaged the Constitutional Court’s image: the General Election Law ruling or the Ethics Council’s decision?

They are two sides of the same coin. They can’t be separated. The general perception is that the Constitutional Court is experiencing a stark decline in terms of public trust as a result of the rulings. So, the challenge right in front of us is how we could restore that trust. We will prioritize virtually all the recommendations of the MKMK. First of all, we have corrected small issues such as unpunctual trials. Now, judges must come down from their offices 15 minutes before the trials begin. No more unpunctuality unless there are things that hold them back such as ongoing preceding trails.

Second, previously, before deliberating a case, judges must have already formed a legal opinion. However, this consistency has not always been maintained. After becoming the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, I created new templates, so all judges must have their opinions ready when entering the case deliberation room. There will be an examination of whether anyone shifts to harmonize with other judges’ opinions or remains with his/her opinion and then makes an argument for concurring or dissenting. So, they don’t look like they’ve copied previous judges’ opinions.

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After all, a legal opinion is crucial...

It’s been a sluggish (process). We are consolidating it again.

Whatever efforts have you made to fix the Court’s reputation and image after the General Election Law decision?

We’ve formed a permanent Ethics Council. They can monitor judges on a day-to-day basis. Without oversight with no one watching, we could become complacent. The MKMK gives some deterrent effects. Another crucial aspect, in my opinion, is the media. The media is strategic because it can influence the public.

The MKMK consists of only three members. Is it enough to keep watch on all Constitutional Court judges?

The more supervisors there are, the better. But three, better than none, is already beneficial.

Is there a need to return the power to the Judicial Commission to keep an eye on the Constitutional Court judges?

Once again, the more oversight by different parties, the better. It will make our job easier. So, I will just need to watch myself. When there is minimum oversight, it’s as if I also have to bear the oversight responsibility.

Two Constitutional Court justices were caught up in corruption scandals. Is the current situation any different?

These days we are in a sequence where time is crucial, in the handling of extremely important cases (general election disputes). So, I think the public’s pessimism is increasingly valid because the Constitutional Court has only one to two months to make decisions. In addition, the MKMK’s ruling also prohibits one of the judges from participating in election dispute cases. That also exacerbates the problems. Maybe, the public, with their rather simple understanding of the situation, will assume that a judge who has been found guilty of ethics violation can still remain a judge. Even if he is still there, he cannot hold trials. Not to mention handling election dispute cases, which will be mushrooming later on.

Will the Constitutional Court implement all the recommendations of the Ethics Council, including not involving Anwar Usman in election cases?

If not, what then? The recommendation is to elect the chair. It was done. The trial schedule has also been improved. Then what will happen if we don’t comply with MKMK’s decision about Pak Anwar? We will be making another mistake. Because this is part of the ethics trial, right? There will be more complaints about ethics violations.

Read the Full Interview in Tempo English Magazine