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or the first time, the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs and laws is using an independent team of experts to help screen Constitutional Court (MK) justice candidates, exposing, in the process, the hopefuls'€™ lack of even basic legal knowledge.

Unlike previous '€œfit-and-proper'€ tests for judges and other state officials at Commission III, where lawmakers usually throw softball questions to candidates, the eight invited experts have been asking decidedly more difficult questions.

One of the experts, former Constitutional Court justice AS Natabaya embarrassed one of the candidates in the race, United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker Dimyati Natakusumah, by asking a number of questions that ended up with the politician failing to provide an adequate explanation of the trias politica principle on the separation of powers.

Natabaya later lectured Dimyati, who is currently a Commission III member, on trias politica, explaining the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government and the judiciary, including their respective responsibilities.

While Natabaya was lecturing Dimyati, several Commission III members were overheard saying: '€œWe warned him [Dimyati] not to take the test'€, while some others said, '€œHe [Dimyati] is embarrassing himself'€.

Another of the experts, Lauddin Marsuni, grilled Dimyati to test his impartiality if he were selected to be a judge.

'€œYou have been a member of the PPP for years. The PPP has become your party. How can you dissociate yourself from a party to which you have been allied for years?'€ asked Lauddin, who is also a former PPP lawmaker.

Three other candidates who joined the '€œfit-and-proper'€ test on Monday received the same treatment from the team of experts.

Also on the team are law professor and writer Saldi Isra; former chairman of Indonesia'€™s second-largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, Ahmad Syafii Maarif, and the former chairman of the largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Hasyim Muzadi.

Other figures on the team with political backgrounds are former law and human rights minister Andi Matalatta '€” who is also a former Golkar Party lawmaker '€” and former PPP lawmaker Zain Badjeber.

Commission III is expected to hold tests for all 11 applicants and will propose the two strongest candidates to a House plenary session on Thursday.

Commission III deputy chairman Tjatur Sapto Edy said that by the end of the selection process, the commission would meet with the team of experts to discuss the final decision.

'€œThe team is expected to recommend the two strongest candidates to us. We will directly forward their recommendation to the plenary if we agree with their judgment. However, we can reject their proposal and vote to select our preferred candidates,'€ said Tjatur, a National Mandate Party (PAN) politician.