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Judicial Commission demands stronger oversight power
The Judicial Commission (KY) has welcomed a government plan to push for judicial reform following a bribery case that implicates a Supreme Court justice.
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Illustration of a court of law (Shutterstock/File)
T
he Judicial Commission has welcomed a government plan to push for judicial reform following a bribery case that has implicated a Supreme Court justice, calling on the government to institute stronger external oversight.
"This could be the right moment to strengthen the Judicial Commission as an [external judicial] supervisory body. As we know, from time to time, the commission’s authority has been curtailed, particularly the power of oversight and recruiting [judges]," commission spokesperson Miko Ginting said on Wednesday.
"This provides momentum to [efforts] to re-optimize the commission in carrying out its functions to maintain the independence of judges."
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered immediate judicial reform following a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigation into the bribery case, which came more than two decades after the Supreme Court started judicial reform in the early 2000s.
“I indeed see there is a strong urgency to reform our legal system and I have instructed the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister [Mahfud MD to address this matter],” Jokowi said on Monday.
Mahfud said on Tuesday that his office would immediately put together a formula to speed up the reform without threatening judicial independence, which is guaranteed by the Constitution.
"The President is disappointed because efforts to eradicate corruption have been quite successful in the executive line, but they often fail in the judicial bodies under the guise that judges must [not be interfered with] and are independent," Mahfud said on Instagram.
