T

he government says the selection process to find a replacement for Constitutional Court (MK) chief justice Hamdan Zoelva, whose terms ends next month, will be conducted transparently.

The court, deemed by many as one of the country'€™s most powerful institutions as it is the final adjudicator of disputes on the interpretation of national laws and election results, is currently set to hear judicial review cases that have wide political repercussions, including the much-debated government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on the election of regional heads.

The Constitution stipulates that the court must have nine justices, with the House of Representatives, the President and the Supreme Court each entitled to appoint three justices to serve five-year tenures.

The 2011 Constitutional Court Law, meanwhile, stipulates that the nomination of justice candidates should conducted in a transparent manner and with participation from the public.

Hamdan, whose tenure ends on Jan. 7, 2015 and can be reappointed, is one of justices nominated by the government.

Although President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has yet to start considering whom he will pick to replace Hamdan, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly has assured that the selection process will be conducted transparently.

'€œIt is supposed to be carried out in a transparent manner,'€ said Ya-sonna, who declined to elaborate on the selection mechanism.

On Wednesday, Jokowi summoned the nine justices to discuss several issues, including an upcoming international constitution forum.

Hamdan said, however, that Wednesday'€™s meeting did not discuss the selection process for his replacement.

'€œWhatever the selection mechanism is, we will leave the decision to the President,'€ he said. '€œHe and his men know what will be the best [mechanism].'€

Last year, legal campaigners criticized former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for appointing former law and human rights minister Patrialis Akbar as a court justice in a vetting process held behind closed doors.

Activists had questioned the reasons behind the appointment of Patrialis, who was a former National Mandate Party (PAN) politician, as the court was expected settle the bulk of electoral disputes centering on the 2014 general election.

Concerned that Jokowi will follow Yudhoyono'€™s move, Erwin Natosmal of the Indonesian Legal Roundtable (ILR) urged the President to allow the public to monitor the selection process.

'€œJokowi should understand that a court justice has a vital role in protecting the rights of citizens. Therefore, if Jokowi is committed to protecting people'€™s rights, he should champion a transparent and open selection process,'€ Erwin said.

He also called on Jokowi to not consider Hamdan as a conduit that allowed him to win the presidential election, given the court'€™s decision to name him the country'€™s seventh president after a bitterly contested election.

'€œJokowi owes him nothing. Don'€™t select Hamdan without first holding a transparent and fair selection process,'€ he added.

After his meeting with Jokowi, Hamdan said he was '€œready [to sit as a justice for the second time] should Jokowi pick [him]'€.

The Supreme Court recently announced that it had picked Denpasar High Court judge Suhartoyo and Bangka Belitung High Court deputy head Manahan Sitompul from a total of nine candidates as the new justices to replace two justices coming from Supreme Court track, Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi and Muhammad Alim.

Ahmad will also end his tenure in early January next year, while Alim will enter retirement in April next year.