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Ethics council to probe Chief Justice Anwar
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Constitutional Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman presides over a hearing on June 15, 2023, when the court read out its decision to pass the buck to the legislature to determine the voting system for an election. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
The Constitutional Court formed an ethics council to investigate alleged conflicts of interest in a ruling that cleared the way for Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the nephew by marriage of Chief Justice Anwar Usman, to contest the presidential election.
This came after some lawyers, activists and several individuals filed separate reports with the court demanding an ethics probe into Anwar and other justices following the Oct. 16 ruling that expanded the candidacy requirements for next year's presidential election to include elected officials under the age of 40.
One of the complainants is rights group the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), which demanded a probe into the five-justice majority that swayed the ruling in favor of altering the candidacy requirements for the presidential election next year, including Anwar.
Anwar participated in the decision-making process for the ruling, even though he had previously recused himself from ruling on three earlier petitions to change the age. The ruling also appeared to be a direct about-face from the three previous rulings that upheld the minimum age of candidacy of 40 without exception, in a 6-2 decision with Anwar recusing himself.
A coalition of lawyers calling itself the Nusantara Lawyers Movement, meanwhile, accused Anwar of “serious ethics violation”, demanding the council to dismiss Anwar from his post as a Constitutional Court justice.
Read also: Legal groups demand ethics probe into Constitutional Court chief justice following ruling
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Constitutional Court Justice Enny Nurbaningsih said all nine justices had agreed to appoint Justice Wahiduddin Adams to the three-member ethics council established for the investigation.
