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n the wake of the bribery scandal implicating Constitutional Court (MK) chief justice Akil Mochtar, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Saturday called for a better mechanism to select its justices and a reinstatement of the Judicial Commission'€™s power to oversee the court.

The President made the call following a meeting with six heads of state institutions at the Presidential Palace, which he initiated to respond to what he called a '€œpolitical tragedy'€. '€œWhat happened has tarnished the state'€™s dignity,'€ he said.

The meeting was attended by Supreme Court chief justice Hatta Ali, Judicial Commission chairman Suparman Marzuki, Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) chairman Hadi Poernomo, House of Representatives speaker Marzuki Alie, People'€™s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Sidarto Danusubroto and Regional Representatives Council (DPD) speaker Irman Gusman. Representatives of the Court were not invited to the meeting.

Acknowledging public demand that the court be frozen temporarily and that the remaining eight justices resign after the scandal, Yudhoyono announced that the government would draft a regulation in lieu of law, known as Perpu, to outline a better mechanism to select Court justices. '€œWe believe that many selection processes of certain state official posts are affected by political interests,'€ Yudhoyono said. '€œIt is dangerous if it [also] interferes with their considerations in performing their duties.'€

The President said that he would consult with the Supreme Court and the House before issuing the regulation. Under the 2009 Constitutional Court Law, the government, the House and the Supreme Court are all entitled to appoint three justices to serve five-year tenures. Akil, a former Golkar Party lawmaker, was appointed by the House.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Hatta Ali said after the meeting that the country would likely '€œhave a new special committee to select justices.'€ '€œBut, we will discuss the mechanism first,'€ he said, adding that, '€œAll three elements [the Supreme Court, the House and the President] will still be involved there.'€

Yudhoyono also backed the proposal from antigraft activists and legal experts to reinstate the Judicial Commission'€™s power to monitor Court judges, which was scrapped by the Court itself in 2006 when it was led by Jimly Asshiddiqie. '€œTo make our democracy healthy, power must not go unchecked,'€ the President said.

The Court is facing an uphill battle to regain public trust following the scandal. The remaining eight justices were aware that the Court'€™s credibility was now in tatters following the arrest of Akil, who was immediately suspended after being officially charged and detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Akil, a former Golkar Party politician, was arrested on suspicion that he took billions of rupiah in bribes to rule in favor of certain candidates in two election disputes being tried at the Court. His arrest has sent shockwaves throughout the country'€™s legal system with former Court chief Mahfud MD, suggesting that the Court be disbanded

Deputy Chief Justice Hamdan Zoelva said the Court would strive to regain public trust after the scandal. '€œWe are still discussing [ways to do it],'€ he said on Friday. '€œThe ethics investigation is one of our efforts to restore public trust,'€ Hamdan said. '€œWe will consider any input from the ethics panel regarding how to ensure all justices are clean.'€

Mahfud, however, was much less confident that the Court would manage to restore its standing anytime soon. '€œFrankly speaking, I am pessimistic the Court, in the near future, will be able to regain the same level of public trust it had prior to the case. This is the biggest case in our judiciary,'€ he said. '€œIt will take a long time to restore its image. People will doubt its rulings and many will consider offering money to win a case at the Court.'€