Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has endorsed the Judicial Commission's plan to reselect all the 49 justices at the Supreme Court as part of sweeping reforms to the country's corrupt judicial system.
The move is seen as the first step to major reforms in the Supreme Court, although it will likely draw strong opposition from the country's highest judicial institution.
Commission chairman Busyro Muqoddas said on Wednesday the plan would address the court's chronic problems of serious mismanagement and a lack of leadership, which had resulted in a culture of corruption.
Five Supreme Court employees have been detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in connection with a major bribery case involving former president Soeharto's half brother, Probosutedjo, who was earlier convicted of graft.
Probosutedjo claims three justices, including Supreme Court chief Bagir Manan, received bribes from his lawyers before the court considered reviewing his case.
"The reselection must be conducted to find whether the justices' qualifications have met clear, transparent and accountable standards," Busyro said after a meeting with the President on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the Judicial Commission asked Susilo to issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to allow for the reselection process.
Although the commission is authorized to select Supreme Court judges, there is no law allowing it to reselect the incumbent justices. It started work last year, after most of the justices had been selected by the House of Representatives.
Busyro said Susilo welcomed the commission's request for a Perppu and immediately ordered Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin to follow it up.
"'The sooner the better'," Busyro quoted the President saying. The commission was currently completing the draft for the Perppu, he said. Hamid said he would examine the draft soon after it was completed and before it was approved by the President.
"The mechanism is in the hands of the President... I'll examine it and look into the structure. It will take time before we can hand it over to the House of Representatives for deliberation," he said.
During the meeting with the commission, Susilo assured members he had no intention of intervening in the judicial system, although he was concerned about its poor track record.
The commission was established under Article 24(b) Paragraph 1 of the amended Constitution, which rules that it is an independent institution authorized to propose candidate judges and uphold their honor and conduct.
Since its establishment, the commission has summoned several judges after public complaints. There has been tensions in its relationship with the Supreme Court, particularly after it called in Bagir for questioning in connection with the Probosutedjo case. Bagir ignored the summons.