Indonesia promotes judicial reform

The Supreme Court in central Jakarta, Indonesia.(Courtesy of the Supreme Court)

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s government has created a new team to formulate a plan to accelerate 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, according to Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD.

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, he said in a statement released on May 27.

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 agriculture and natural resources reforms, as well as settling legal loopholes.

The team will formulate new policies that will also be delivered to the new administration after the 2024 general election for it to consider implementing, Mahfud said./.