Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono swore in the new Supreme Court Chief Justice M. Hatta Ali at the State Palace on Thursday.

The ceremony, which was held at 10.30 a.m., was attended by all justices, Cabinet members, and lawmakers. It officially marks the beginning of Hatta's tenure as the leader of the nation's highest judiciary body.

Hatta, a native of Makassar, South Sulawesi, won the Supreme Court leadership election last month. He replaced former chief justice Harifin A. Tumpa who entered retirement on Thursday. Hatta's strongest rivals in the race were justices Ahmad Kamil, Abdul Kadir, M. Saleh and Paulus E. Lotulung.

Hatta has pledged to improve the integrity of the nation's judiciary system, which has been labeled as one of the most corrupt state institutions in Indonesia.

Hatta is a career judge who was appointed to the Supreme Court in August 2007. He has also been involved in contentious decisions. As part of a panel of justices in April 2010, Hatta upheld reducing the custodial sentence of businesswoman Artalyta Suryani by six months – only three months after the Judicial Mafia Task Force revealed she was enjoying luxurious accommodation in prison.