MA Concerned About South Jakarta District Court Chief Justice and Three Judges Becoming Suspects

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The Supreme Court, or MA, has expressed its concern as three of its judges have been named suspects in a case involving alleged bribery and gratuities related to case management at the Central Jakarta District Court. The MA Supervisory Body has formed a special task force to investigate alleged violations of the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Judicial Conduct, or KEPPH.

Supreme Court spokesperson Yanto, in a press conference on Monday (14/4/2025) in Jakarta, stated that the Supreme Court respects the legal process carried out by the Attorney General's Office against the Chairman of the South Jakarta District Court and the panel of judges for corruption cases at the Central Jakarta District Court. The Supreme Court also urged prioritizing the presumption of innocence principle during the ongoing legal process.

Yanto confirmed that judges and clerks who have been designated as suspects and detained will be temporarily suspended. If a final and legally binding verdict is later issued, they will be permanently dismissed.

"The Supreme Court is deeply concerned about the incidents that continue to afflict the judiciary at a time when the Supreme Court is undergoing reforms and making changes in managing and conducting judicial processes to achieve a clean and professional judiciary," said Yanto.

The team will gather initial information and statements related to this case. In principle, the Judicial Commission (KY) will immediately process any information or findings if there are indications of violations of the judicial code of ethics.

Although it has been acquitted at the first-level court, Yanto stated that the case of alleged corruption in crude palm oil export facilities has not yet reached legal finality. The case will proceed to the cassation level as the public prosecutor filed a cassation appeal on March 27, 2025.

Regarding this matter, the Supervisory Body of the Supreme Court has established a special task force responsible for conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the discipline, performance, and compliance of judges and judicial apparatus with the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Judicial Conduct (KEPPH). They will operate within the four judicial environments under the jurisdiction of DKI Jakarta.

In addition, the Supreme Court has decided to use a robotic-based panel of judges (smart panel) application at the first-instance and appellate courts to minimize judicial corruption. Yanto said the system has been implemented at the Supreme Court.

"So, robotics is the result of the leadership meeting earlier. In the Supreme Court, it has already been implemented. The result of the meeting earlier is that the equipment will be prepared first," said Yanto.

According to Yanto, the mechanism for appointing a panel of judges with this system is expected to close any gaps in supervision that may still exist. Yanto claims that supervision of judges is already tight because there are five parties supervising, such as the Judicial Commission (KY), inherent supervision, to the supervision system from the community.

On the other hand, said Yanto, the Chief Justice Sunarto has repeatedly reminded the ranks of the Supreme Court not to be transactional. In fact, continued Yanto, the Chief Justice has given an example of living simply, such as when visiting a region not asking for a VIP room or for short-distance visits only using a Hiace car to reduce escorts.

Meanwhile, member and spokesperson of KY Mukti Fajar Nur Dewata in a written statement said, KY is concerned and regrets the incident of determining suspects against the Head of South Jakarta District Court and three judges. KY will take the initiative by immediately sending a team to investigate the alleged violations.

"The team will collect information and initial statements related to this case. In principle, the KY will immediately process information or findings if there are indications of violations of the judge's code of ethics," said Mukti.

In relation to this, according to Mukti, KY is ready to coordinate with MA and AGO to investigate this case further if necessary. Mukti also asked all parties to give trust to the ongoing law enforcement process.

As reported, the Attorney General's Office investigators have named the Head of the South Jakarta District Court Muhammad Arif Nuryanta and Wahyu Gunawan as the Deputy Civil Clerk of the North Jakarta District Court as suspects in alleged bribery and gratification in handling cases at the Central Jakarta District Court, on Saturday (12/4/2023) night. Then, on Monday (14/4/2025) early morning, the Attorney General's Office announced that it had named three judges as suspects for the same case.

They are Djuyamto, Agam Syarif Baharuddin, and Ali Muhtarom. They are suspected of receiving bribes or gratuities from the corporate defendant in the corruption case of granting crude palm oil export facilities from January 2022 to April 2022. Of the total of IDR 60 billion, the three judges received around IDR 22 billion.

"So, the total received (by the three judges) was around IDR 22 billion. The three judges knew the purpose of receiving the money so that the case would be decided on ontslag and on March 19, 2025 the case was decided on ontslag," explained Qohar.