JakartaPost-May 28, 2023
The government has created a new team to formulate a plan to accelerate and renew judicial reform efforts that the Supreme Court launched in the early 2000s, after the country’s top court was hit by a bribery case involving two of its justices. Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD announced the formation of the new team in a statement released on Saturday. The team is tasked with reviewing the ongoing reforms and formulating new policies for speeding them up, without threatening the judiciary’s constitutionally guaranteed independence. The move follows President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s instruction on immediate judicial reform last September, when the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) opened a bribery investigation into Supreme Court Justice Sudrajad Dimyati. Comprising four working groups, the new team will not only focus on reforming the judiciary and the criminal justice system, but also find more effective ways to curb and prevent corruption through agrarian and natural resources reforms, as well as closing legal loopholes. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court said it had taken several measures following the bribery scandals in an attempt to clean house and improve internal oversight, but activists remain unconvinced. Meanwhile, the Judicial Commission has demanded that the government impose stronger external oversight. Read more at:
