Justice Anwar Usman Sues Chief Justice of Constitutional Court at Jakarta State Administrative Court

By Irfan Kamil, Ihsanuddin for Kompas.com, 24 Nov 2023 17:03 Local

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Justice of Indonesia’s Constitutional Court, Mr. Anwar Usman, commenced legal proceedings against the head of the Constitutional Court, Chief Justice Suhartoyo, in the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN)¹ on Friday (11/24/2023).

According to the Jakarta State Administrative Court’s case tracking information system (SIPP), the lawsuit, classified as ‘other,’ was registered as case number 604/G/2023/PTUN.JKT, and named the parties as “Plaintiff Prof. Dr. Anwar Usman, S.H., M.H., and defendant Chief of the Constitutional Court.” The specific details of Justice Anwar Usman’s lawsuit are yet to be disclosed.

The lawsuit also does not include the names of the panel of judges who will examine and adjudicate the case. It is known that Justice Anwar Usman previously lodged objections following the appointment of Constitutional Court Justice Suhartoyo as the new Chief Justice to replace him.

“There is a letter of objection from Justice Anwar Usman regarding Decree Number 17/2023 dated November 9, 2023 appointing Justice Suhartoyo as the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court for 2023-2028,” said Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih to Kompas.com on Wednesday (11/22/2023).

Justice Enny said that the letter of objection was signed last week. “The letter, submitted by three legal representatives for Justice Anwar Usman, was dated November 15, 2023,” she said.

Justice Enny has yet to confirm the procedure or follow-up actions regarding such an objection letter. It is also unclear how, and to what extent, such an objection letter could legally impact Justice Suhartoyo’s status as the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court.

“We are currently discussing it in the judicial conferencing meetings,” said Justice Enny.

The move by Justice Anwar contrasts with his frequent statements before and after being removed from the post of Chief Justice at the Constitutional Court that “positions belong to God.”

A day after his removal, Justice Anwar held a press conference and asserted that everything that had happened to him was slander and a conspiracy.

“From the beginning, I have said that the position belongs to God, so my dismissal as Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court did not burden me in the slightest,” he stated on November 8.

Justice Anwar Usman was dismissed from the position of Chief Justice following findings of violations of the court’s code of ethics that related to judicial review case 90/PUU-XXI/2023 which paved the way for his nephew, and eldest son of Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, Mr. Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to register as a vice-presidential candidate.

Justice Anwar’s dismissal was decided by the Constitutional Court’s Judicial Conduct Board during an ethics investigation whose finding were published on Tuesday (11/7/2023).

The Judicial Conduct Board found Justice Anwar guilty of serious violations of the Court’s code of ethics and conduct for constitutional justices, provided for in the Court’s “Seven Noble Principles” which encompasses impartiality, integrity, competence and equality, independence, as well as appropriateness and decency.

In its findings, the Court’s Judicial Conduct Board also directed Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Mr. Saldi Isra, to lead the election of a new Constitutional Court leadership within 24 hours.

“The respondent justice is not allowed to be involved in, or engage in, the examination and decision-making of cases disputing the results of presidential and vice-presidential elections, elections for members of the House of Representatives, the Senate (Regional Representatives Council or DPD), or regional legislatures, as well as elections for governor and mayor that have the potential for conflicts of interest,” said Head of the Court’s Judicial Conduct Board Prof. Dr. Jimly Asshiddiqie reading out the verdict.

This article is based on https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2023/11/24/17035881/anwar-usman-gugat-ketua-mk-ke-ptun-jakarta

Footnotes:

1. https://ptun-jakarta.go.id/ and http://www.worldlii.org/id/legis/uu/un5t1986239/ ↩︎