Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo: The More Oversight by Different Parties over Judges, the Better

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

• Sebelumnya
• 1
• 2