T

he Judicial Commission (KY) and the Supreme Court lauded a ruling Friday that would dissolve the House of Representatives'€™ role in the selection of Supreme Court justices.

The House will only be able to approve or reject candidates proposed by the commission.

Commissioner Imam Anshori Saleh said the ruling would free the whole process from politics.

Supreme Court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur said the court '€œhoped the justice shortage could now be resolved'€.

On Thursday, the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously to scrap the role of the House to select one justice from every three candidates short-listed by the commission.

'€œTherefore, the commission should now propose one candidate to fill one seat to be later approved [or rejected] by the House,'€ court justice Ahamd Fadlil Sumadi said in his ruling.

Three former justice applicants who were rejected by the House filed a judicial review on the selection of justices.

The move was supported by activists and legal analysts grouped under the Civil Society Coalition for a Professional Judiciary, which set up a legal team to represent the three.

They argued the existing mechanism, which allowed the House to select candidates, violated the principles of an independent judiciary.

In September last year, media representatives witnessed an incident '€” involving a justice candidate and a lawmaker '€” believed to be a bribery attempt in a toilet on the sidelines of a screening test at the House.

Imam revealed to media that in 2011, a lawmaker had offered Rp 1.4 billion (US$114,933) to commission members in return for their endorsement of a certain candidate.

The fresh ruling, however, would put pressure on the court to nominate better candidates.

In early 2013, Muhammad Daming Sunusi, a justice candidate proposed by the commission, made a joke about rape during his screening at the House, sparking wide public protest.

The commission later admitted it had made a mistake in selecting Daming and as a result ceased to allow candidates who had failed twice from reapplying for a third time.

Daming himself failed a medical test during a selection process at the commission in 2010 and a screening test in 2011.

Erwin Natosmal, a legal activists, hailed the ruling, saying that although the commission would now face a larger challenge in the nomination of justices, the process would be more transparent.

Another commissioner, Taufiqurrohman Syahuri, said the selection process would be much improved: '€œWe will also provide the House with detailed background of each candidate.'€

House Speaker Marzuki Alie supported the ruling although lawmakers had previously tried to seek a greater role in the process by amending the 2009 Supreme Court Law.

'€œI have to reiterate that [leaders of] legal institutions should not be selected by the House as they eventually would be taken hostages by politics,'€ he said as quoted by Antara news agency. '€œThe selection should be independent.'€