The Jakarta Post
The Supreme Court has adopted a virtual trial system to help the country’s highest court handle more cases amid the pandemic and enact judicial reform quicker than planned, but recurrent technical glitches have called into question its ability to deliver justice. The Supreme Court has allowed for all lower and appellate court hearings to be held via Zoom since April last year, roughly a month after the country detected its first COVID-19 patients. The court signed an agreement with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the Law and Human Rights Ministry, allowing the trial of criminal cases to be held online. It issued Supreme Court Regulation No. 4/2020 in September 2020 to serve as a legal basis for online trials for criminal cases. According to the 2020 regulation, judges and prosecutors are allowed to be physically present in the courtroom during the trial of a ...