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eemingly disturbed by public scrutiny of the corrupt deeds of its officials, the Supreme Court has been telling the public that it has taken many laudable steps to improve its image.

Supreme Court chief justice Hatta Ali said that as part of these efforts, the court had in the last five months dismissed dozens of staffers implicated in graft cases being investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

“We fired those involved in corruption cases even before the KPK had officially laid charges against them,” Hatta said.

The country’s highest judicial institution is currently in the spotlight as a number of its officials have been implicated in graft cases. The cases, in which court staff members are mostly accused of receiving money to influence verdicts, have increased the public’s doubt about internal reform at the court.

A recent high-profile case is that of Central Jakarta District Court registrar Edy Nasution, who was arrested on April 20 on suspicions he accepted a bribe to influence a case review of a civil dispute involving Malaysia-based pay TV operator Astro and PT First Media, a member of influential business conglomerate Lippo Group.

The case dragged in Supreme Court secretary Nurhadi after KPK investigators confiscated a large amount of what it claims is dirty money from his house and office, as the Supreme Court has the final say on any case review.

Following the case, Hatta said the court immediately fired two Central Jakarta District Court officials, Irdiansyah and Sarwo Edy, for allegedly helping Edy commit the crime.

However, the Supreme Court has yet to dismiss Nurhadi.

Another case is one that implicates Andri Tristianto Sutrisna, chief of the subdirectorate of appeals and special civil case second reviews at the Supreme Court. He was implicated in the graft case due to a delay in extending an appeal request for a verdict in a corruption case surrounding the development of a port in West Nusa Tenggara in 2007 and 2008.

Hatta said the Supreme had fired not only Andri, but also Kosidah, an official at the subdirectorate of special crimes overseeing corruption cases.

Hatta went on to say that reform had been ongoing since 2010 and the Supreme Court already had the blueprint for guidelines until 2035, including shorter deadlines for case settlement, from the previous three months to 30 days, and online publication of verdicts via the Supreme Court’s official website.

However, it may not be enough to satisfy the public as even the Association of Deans of Indonesian Law Schools (APPTHI) — comprising the deans of more than 180 private law schools across the country — came to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ask him to let them take part in the internal reform by examining numerous Supreme Court rulings.

The academic examination would cover a number of Supreme Court rulings that have binding legal status and would aim to scrutinize, for instance, whether the rulings applied the correct legal doctrine, or whether the decisions are appropriate.

The Judicial Commission, the external judicial supervisory body, objects to APPTHI’s idea, saying that it should be the responsibility of the Commission.

“It won’t be effective to establish a new team, moreover, we will need a new regulation as well,” Judicial Commission chairman Aidul Fitriciada Azhari said.

House of Representatives Speaker Ade Komarudin expressed the same objection. According to him, the demand is only a reflection of a power struggle in the legal fraternity. “People may disagree with the Supreme Court’s verdicts. But they are still protected by the Constitution. And the institution is also protected by the Constitution,” Ade said.