Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it backed a proposal to scrap the "fit-and-proper" test session at the House of Representatives in the selection of justices.

"Questions on whether justice candidates should undergo fit-and-proper tests at the House should be raised," Supreme Court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur told reporters on Thursday.

"The selection process at the commission is already comprehensive, while the interview at the House is only around one-and-a-half hours. If they try only to find candidates' mistakes, one wrong comment can be fatal."

Last week, the Civil Society Coalition for a Professional Judiciary filed a judicial review with the Constitutional Court against Article 8, paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5, of the 2009 Supreme Court Law, as well as Article 18, paragraph 4, and Article 19, paragraph 1, of the 2011 Judicial Commission Law.

The articles set the ratio of three justice candidates for each post and gives authority to the House to select justices instead of simply approving or rejecting candidates on the list.

Under the 2011 law, the judicial commission is tasked with assessing, selecting and forwarding candidate lists according to the ratio to the House which would later pick one from every three hopefuls.

The fit-and-proper test at the House would make people hesitant to enter the selection, Ridwan added, following the recent embarrassment of Daming Sunusi's controversial "rape joke" during a fit-and-proper test in January.

At the judicial commission, the candidates will be put through a five-stage process, including an administrative test, competency assessment, psychological test, medical check-up and interview.

The Supreme Court also wants a revision to the one-of-three policy, as it is not easy to find the right people to become justices. According to the Supreme Court, there are only 41 active justices right now, while the court is allowed a maximum of 60, according to the law.

In late 2012, chief justice Hatta Ali lamented the declining number of cases handled in 2012 after they lost 10 justices, leaving them with only 44 at that time. Of the 10, eight retired, one died and one was dismissed.

Of over 12,000 cases before the court between January and November 2012, it managed to rule on only about 9,500 cases, or 18.6 percent less than the same period in 2011.

As of Thursday, entering the final two days of the 15-day registration for the latest justice selection, only 55 people have applied to fill seven empty slots. Of the applicants, 40 are career judges and 15 come from non-judicial backgrounds.

"If we look at the number, it is actually quite a lot. However, the commission will decide tomorrow whether or not to prolong the registration," Judicial Commission spokesperson Asep Rahmat Fajar said.