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Supreme Court inches closer to first female justice for religious chamber
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Supreme Court building in Central Jakarta. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court/-)
T
he Supreme Court is expected to add the first-ever female justice to its religious chamber if the House of Representatives approves of the sole name proposed by the Judicial Commission.
The sole nominee is Muhayah, a female judge and the deputy head of the Samarinda Religious High Court in East Kalimantan.
If House Commission III overseeing legal affairs confirms her, Muhayah would be the first female justice to serve in the Supreme Court’s religious chamber, according to Judicial Commissioner and spokesperson Mukti Fajar Nur Dewata.
“Currently, the Supreme Court’s religious chamber is still composed of only male justices,” Mukti told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
In the Muslim majority country, cases related to familial relationships of Muslims, such as divorce, probate, custody of children and controversial underage marriage dispensations, are heard in religious courts while those of non-Muslims are handled by civil courts.
Muhayah was among the 26 candidates – mostly male judges – who applied for the single opening in the religious chamber.
During the final interview by the judicial commissioners and independent assessors on Thursday, the only remaining candidates for the religious chamber spot were Muhayah and Lailatul Arofah, another female judge.
