The Judicial Commission’s Authority in the Selection of Adhoc Judges for Constitutional Interests

The Judicial Commission (KY) gave its response regarding the argument for testing Article 13 letter a of Law Number 18 of 2011 concerning the Judicial Commission. Meanwhile, this is related to the KY’s authority in proposing the appointment of ad hoc judges at the Supreme Court (MA).

KY Spokesperson Miko Ginting said that KY is a supporting part to determine judges, while MA and MK are the main components and are irrelevant when doing so.

“Regarding the consequences of the abolition of the KY’s authority in selecting candidates for ad hoc judges in the Supreme Court on the independence and impartiality of judges. The KY’s authority in conducting the selection of Adhoc Judge Candidates at the Supreme Court is a form of constitutional interest,” he said in a written statement, Sunday (12/9).

Judicial Commissions in various countries also have the authority to select judges. This main function was also captured by the makers of the 1945 Constitution (amendments) and related laws.

KY member and Head of Human Resources, Advocacy, Legal, Research and Development Division, Binziad Kadafi, said that in the selection of judges a shield must be made to prevent them from improper goals, improper influence, and pressure on the judges themselves.

“All of this has an impact on the independence and impartiality of judges,” he explained.

Meanwhile, constitutional law expert, former judge, and Constitutional Justice for the 2003-2008 period, Maruarar Siahaan stated that constitutionally all judges have the same authority so that ideally they have the same standards, especially in the selection mechanism.

“Adhoc judges with supreme judges and even career judges have the same constitutional duties, responsibilities, and authorities, namely examining, adjudicating, and deciding cases. Thus, the various standards applied to them, especially the standards in selection, should be the same,” he explained.

If judges are chosen by the same institution, the main impact will be on the independence of the judges, in this case the ad hoc judge TIPIKOR in the Supreme Court. This impact must be avoided by the existence of a separate institution to conduct the selection of judges as a universal standard to strengthen independence and impartiality.

“Moreover, the constitutional norms also state this by giving the KY the authority to select judges in the Supreme Court (supreme judges and ad hoc judges),” he said.