Constitutional Court (MK) chairman Arief Hidayat is reelected as the chairman of the court for the 2017-2020 period by acclamation at a plenary meeting for the election of a new chief justice in a closed meeting at the courthouse, Jakarta, Friday (14/7). Arief\'s swearing in ceremony was attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Arief Hidayat has again been elected as the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK). He will lead the Constitutional Court until April 1, 2018, when his term ends.
In line with Article 22 of Law No. 24/2003 on the Constitutional Court, Arief can be reelected as a constitutional justice. However, his reelection is not certain because the President, the House of Representatives (DPR) or the Supreme Court can all propose another candidate for maintaining the constitution according to their respective considerations.
This means Arief has to work hard in leading the eight other constitutional judges to fulfill the people\'s expectations of the Constitutional Court. As set out in the law, the Constitutional Court has the authority to hear at the first and last sessions in cases of judicial review, disputes over the authority of state institutions, on the dissolution of political parties and on electoral disputes, and its verdict is final.Indonesia is currently facing the above problems.
Elections, whatever the outcome, always cause problems, including the elections of regional heads. Party leadership in this country is also frequently colored by commotion and double leadership. A number of laws produced by the DPR and the government are repeatedly challenged by the Constitutional Court. Some laws are even challenged repeatedly by the Constitutional Court, including the laws regulating the general elections. It is only the inter-institutional authorities that have not had many disputes to be settled by the Constitutional Court.
On the other hand, the public view on the credibility of the Constitutional Court is not encouraging, following two "shameful" cases that involved its justices. Chief justice Akil Mochtar was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in 2013 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. In early 2017, Constitutional Court judge Patrialis Akbar was also arrested by the KPK. The two were involved in corruption related to case management at the Constitutional Court.
Arief had also been sanctioned by the court’s Ethics Council. In 2016, he was proven to have sent a "magical letter" to the Deputy Attorney General for Supervision, which was deemed inappropriate.
Therefore, a second term as the Constitutional Court\'s chief justice is a vehicle for Arief to rebuild the credibility of the Constitution Court and regain public trust. Or course, this is not an easy job. However, the court has the potential to meet the people’s expectations.
Article 15 of the Constitutional Court Law stipulates that its justices must have integrity and a just and clean character, and act as statesmen who maintain the constitution and state administration. So, whosoever becomes a constitutional court justice are superior men; statesmen who have overcome their own problems.
Nine months still remain for Arief to lead the eight statesmen of the Constitutional Court to realize the constitutional mandate towards a just and prosperous Indonesia.
