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akarta: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono swore in new Supreme Court Chief Justice M Hatta Ali at the State Palace on Thursday.

The 10:30 a.m. ceremony 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 judicial body.

Hatta, a native of Makassar, South Sulawesi, won the Supreme Court leadership election last month. He replaces former chief justice Harifin A Tumpa, who retired 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 judicial system, which is regarded 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 the reduction of 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.