T

he selection committee established by President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo to select a new Constitutional Court justice pledged on Wednesday that it would give equal treatment to candidates regardless of background.

The committee was established to find a replacement for chief justice Hamdan Zoelva, whose tenure ends in early January.

The committee, which consists of seven legal experts, also announced that Hamdan was among the 16 names that had been registered in the selection process as of Wednesday afternoon when they closed the registration for candidates.

Other than Hamdan, a commissioner at the Judicial Commission, Imam Anshori Saleh, has also joined the selection process, along with two individuals who flunked the selection process of the House of Representatives earlier this year '€” a notary and legal practitioner Franz Astani and Sugianto, a law lecturer at the State Islamic University in Cirebon.

The Constitution stipulates that the Constitutional Court must consist of nine justices, with the House, the president and the Supreme Court each entitled to appoint three justices to serve five-year terms.

State administrative law professor Saldi Isra, who leads the new court justice selection team, said both Hamdan and Imam, as well as other names in the list, would receive the same treatment throughout the whole selection process.

'€œRest assured, those who pass [the administration process] will get equal treatment. They all will face the same verification process conducted by the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre [PPATK],'€ Saldi said during the press conference on Wednesday.

By involving the KPK and PPATK, the team aims to ensure the candidates will have no connection to graft cases.

Hamdan, who was elected as court chief justice in November, has hinted that he is seeking reelection.

Saldi said Hamdan did not personally register his name, but was recommended by several prominent human rights groups.

Saldi said the team would announce candidates who passed the administrative test on Thursday and those who passed the test would take an interview on Dec. 22 and 23.

The committee has a limited amount of time to find the new justice candidates as by Jan. 6 the President must issue a decree to officiate their appointment.

The committee also ensured the whole process would be conducted transparently and that they were expecting to involve members of the public during the selection process. '€œThe candidate interviews will be open to the public, civil society groups and the media,'€ Saldi added.