Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo: The More Oversight by Different Parties over Judges, the Better
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13 January 2024 11:12 WIB
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.
