[Kabar-indonesia] Judicial Commission lauded on justice selection

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
Thursday, November 2, 2006

Commission lauded on justice selection

Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post

The Judicial Commission, which has been stripped of its
oversight role by the Constitutional Court, has won kudos
for its integrity in selecting candidates for Supreme Court
justices.

For the first time ever, the commission screened candidates
in interviews open to the public in which candidates were
asked questions about their track records and personality.

Emmerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch said the
involvement of the public in the selection process would
result in justices of better integrity and that the system
should be continued in the future.

"We can expect 'clean' justices," he told The Jakarta Post.

The commission interviewed nine candidates Tuesday and
Wednesday after collecting information from the public about
their competence and integrity.

On Wednesday, it interviewed Hatta Ali, a senior official at
the Supreme Court, lawyer Munir Fuady and Sanusi Husin of
the University of Lampung.

Commission member Soekotjo Soeparto asked Munir to clarify a
rumor that he had misused the funds of the Indonesian Bar
Association when he headed it from 1999 to 2004.

"This is about your credibility. Can you explain that to
me?" Soekotjo asked the candidate.

Munir refuted the allegations, saying that the association
did not have a penny during his tenure. "When I was the head
of the association, there were no regular contributions from
its members," he said.

The commission will send the names of the selected
candidates to the House of Representatives on Nov. 15 at the
latest.

The commission's chief, Busyro Muqoddas, said the House
would have to hold a plenary session to review the
candidates. He declined to disclose his personal assessment
of the candidates.

Busyro stressed that he would not lobby the lawmakers over
the selection for the sake of transparency.

He was upbeat the House would not reject the names
recommended by the commission. "They must have a strong
reason to reject even one name," he said.

According to the law, the commission is required to
recommend 18 names to the House for six vacant position in
the Supreme Court. The commission said it would not abide by
the regulation as it focused more on the quality, not the
quantity, of the applicants.

Lawyer Bambang Widjojanto said most of the candidates showed
poor understanding of legal philosophy and did not have a
clear motive for being justices.

He suggested that the Judicial Commission create a new
scheme where only those highly qualified for the position
could apply and be proactive in searching for suitable
candidates.

"We can no longer count on an open market like this where
anybody is allowed to apply. Suitable candidates must be
approached and encouraged to be supreme justices," he said.

He said the commission must be able to increase people's
awareness of the need to have the very best justices. He
suggested that civil society organizations recommend their
best people to apply for the post.

------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
------------------------------------------