TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Constitutional Court chief justice undergoes fit and proper test
Change Size
Reelected: Vice President Jusuf Kalla (left) congratulates Constitutional Court chief justice Arief Hidayat (center) and his wife, Tundjung Herning Sitabuana, after Arief’s inauguration at the court in Jakarta on July 14. Arief was reelected as the court's chief justice for the 2017 to 2020 period. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A.)
T
he chief justice of the Constitutional Court, Arief Hidayat, went through a fit and proper test at the House of Representatives’ Commission III on Wednesday as he seeks to keep his position until 2023.
Arief’s screening has raised suspicions of a conflict of interest, given that he currently presides over a hearing on a judicial review against the House’s right to launch an inquiry into the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Commission III member Arsul Sani denied that there was any political lobbying going on between the commission and Arief, regarding either the extension of the latter’s term in office or the judicial review against the House’s inquiry rights.
He admitted, however, that Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, had invited Arief to an internal meeting at a hotel in Jakarta to discuss the extension of Arief’s term.
"Pak Arief said he was willing [to continue his duty as a Constitutional Court judge]," Arsul said.
Democratic Party House faction member Benny K. Harman suggested that Commission III also consider other candidates.
"We are trying to dispel claims of a conflict of interest by forming a panel of experts to evaluate Arief's professionalism.” (kmt/ebf)
