Our Hopes for New MK Leaders

KOMPAS/ALIF ICHWAN

Vice President Jusuf Kalla (left) congratulates new Constitutional Court chief justice Anwar Usman (second left) and deputy chief justice Aswanto (right) after their swearing-in ceremony on Monday in Jakarta. Present at the ceremony were Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, Deputy House Speaker Fadli Zon, People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Zulkifli Hasan and former MPR speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid.

New leaders were installed to the Constitutional Court (MK) on Monday (2/4/2018). The names Anwar Usman and Aswanto, respectively the new MK chief justice and deputy chief justice, may not hold much promise.

Anwar Usman is a career judge that has been the administrative bureau chief of the Supreme Court (MA), a high court judge and the MK deputy chief justice under Arief Hidayat’s leadership. Aswanto is a professor of criminal law at Makassar’s Hasanuddin University with a long experience in organizing and monitoring elections, and was appointed as an MK justice by the House of Representatives.

It must be acknowledged that there is yet to be any prominent public recognition of the two MK leaders for the 2018-2020 term. They will serve in their respective positions for two years and six months, in line with Article 4, Point 3 of Law No. 8/2011 on the Amendment to Law No. 24/2003 on the Constitutional Court. They may seek only one extension to their terms of office. Aswanto’s current term as a justice ends in March 2019, when he may seek reappointment.

As the court’s leaders, it is time for Anwar and Aswanto to prove that the public can still rely on the Constitutional Court, which has been losing the public’s trust since chief justice Akil Mochtar was arrested in 2013 by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for alleged corruption. The court needs to be bolder in delivering rulings that reflect justice and a consciousness of the people’s need for the certainty of state administrative laws. Only through this way can public trust be restored. Thus far, the court has often been deemed as “playing it safe” or as too late in issuing its rulings, giving way to public controversy.

This is despite the court having the authority to decide on disputes related to the institutional power of state bodies, the disbandment of political parties, the election results or to assess the House’s rulings if either the president or the vice president is found to have violated laws – in addition to, of course, handling judicial reviews. If the court delays its rulings and the people are able to “discover” their own way for resolving the problems of state administration, we can be sure that the public trust in the Constitutional Court will continue to dwindle.

Judiciary watchdog KoDe Inisiatif chairperson Veri Junaidi said that the court’s decisions on judicial reviews were often delayed. Often, a ruling was issued after the peak of the issue had passed. This in no way benefits those who sought justice (Kompas, 3/4/2018). The justices’ less than ethical behavior – as in the reported case involving former MK chief justice Arief Hidayat – have overshadowed the court’s rulings, and the situation has become increasingly unpleasant for seekers of constitutional justice.

With his experience in managing the elections since 2004, Aswanto may lead the way in issuing progressive rulings that fulfills the people’s sense of justice in the event of any disputes in the 2018 simultaneous elections, which will be held in 171 regions. Aswanto is not only experienced in election monitoring; he has also served as a member of the ethics council at the South Sulawesi General Elections Commission (KPU), an expert staff member of the West Sulawesi regional legislative council and head of the Makassar Ombudsman.

The Constitutional Court’s rulings must not drag down the state institution into a dark abyss, as had happened with Akil Mochtar and to Patrialis Akbar in 2017. The court’s rulings are a reflection of its honor.