Risking the Court

The public hoped that the change of chairman and deputy chairman of the Constitutional Court (MK) and the decision of the Constitutional Court Honorary Council could restore the institution's dignity.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court for the 2023-2028 period Anwar Usman (right) and Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Saldi Isra after their inauguration at the Constitutional Court Building, Jakarta, Monday (20/3/2023).

The dignity of the Constitutional Court was being tarnished. Scandal after scandal occurred in the institution inhabited by "statesmen who control the constitution." The institution that was formed through amendments to the 1945 Constitution was once so powerful at the beginning of the reform. Over-politicization at the Constitutional Court and the integrity of the Constitutional Court justices makes this institution seem helpless against the political pressures and personal interests of its inhabitants.

The last development was the "dismissal" of deputy chairperson of the Constitutional Court Aswanto by the House of Representatives (DPR). Then, the DPR appointed Guntur Hamzah, secretary-general of the Constitutional Court, as a constitutional justice. The dismissal of Aswanto and the appointment of Guntur did not match the MK Law. However, in the name of political power, everything continues. And everything is calm, even though the violation is real.