Anwar Usman Accused of 4 Severe Violations as Constitutional Court Chief Justice

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An advocacy team for elections, Tim Advokasi Peduli Pemilu (TAPP), accused Constitutional Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman of committing four serious violations related to the court’s ruling on the minimum age requirement for presidential and vice presidential candidates.

“TAPP calls on the Honorary Council of the Constitutional Court to punish the reported judge and impose a sanction of dishonorable dismissal,” a team member Gugum Ridho Putra said in a press statement on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023.

The team found that Anwar was proven to have committed a disgraceful act, violated his oath of office, no longer met the requirements to be a constitutional judge, and violated the code of ethics and conduct for constitutional judges. On this basis, the team reported Anwar to the Constitutional Court for examination.

In addition to Gugum, members of the team include Dharma Rozali Azhar, Irfan Maulana Muharam, Iqbal Sumarlan Putra, and Dega Kautsar Pradana. The report against Anwar came after controversy over the court’s ruling. 

“TAPP conducted an investigation and examined the anomalies expressed in the dissenting opinions of Constitutional Court judges Saldi Isra and Arief Hidayat,” he explained.

The team found strong suspicions that Anwar Usman, who is President Jokowi’s brother-in-law, had violated the code of ethics and conduct for constitutional judges or Sapta Karsa Hutama.

First, Anwar lied about not attending the judges’ deliberation meeting for cases No. 29/PUU-XXI, No. 51/PUU-XXI/2023, and No. 55/PUU-XXI/2023 in order to avoid a conflict of interest. 

To Judge Arief, Anwar said he was not present due to his health rather than to avoid a conflict of interest. Gugum opined that one of the two statements contained lies that violated the code of ethics. “In particular, [he violated] the principle of integrity which requires constitutional judges to be honest.”

Anwar's involvement in examining and deciding cases No. 90 and Number 91, Gugum went on, was related to Gibran Rakabuming Raka's political interests for the 2024 presidential election. Anwar did not recuse himself from the cases and had a connection with the subject matter of the trial.

“Anwar Usman violated Article 17 paragraphs 3, 4, and 5 of Law No. 48 of 2009 on Judicial Power," he said. Including allegedly violating the Code of Ethics and Conduct for Judges, particularly the principle of impartiality," Gugum concluded.

IHSAN RELIUBUN

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