Saldi Isra is outspoken about ‘No Viral No Justice’ among MK Judges

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7 months ago

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Yogyakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
Deputy Chairman
Constitutional Court
(MK)
Isra Balance
say popular terms
no viral no justice
which often appears as social criticism in society does not apply to the institution.
For him, the concept of justice is dependent on
virality
could be relevant for concrete cases.However, Saldi guarantees that this cannot be applied to abstract cases which are the domain of the Constitutional Court.
“So if it doesn’t go viral first, it’s not fair. Well, in the context of an abstract case, that can’t be done,” said Saldi at the Constitutional Dialogue at Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University (UMY) through a statement shared by the UMY Public Relations Bureau, Friday (14/11).
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Saldi also gave examples of several cases that had attracted public attention.For example, a case involving someone convicted of stealing three cocoa pods from the PT Rumpun Sari Antan (RSA) plantation in 2009.
Then, the case of teachers Abdul Muis and Rasnal in South Sulawesi.They were fired because they asked parents for help to pay honorary teachers who had not received salaries for months.
From Saldi’s perspective, concrete cases like this are closely related to public opinion.However, for the Constitutional Court’s review of laws whose norms are abstract in nature, he questions the extent to which public opinion can influence judges.
“How far public opinion influences judges, I have not found any evidence,” emphasized the figure who has been a MK judge since 2017 replacing Patrialis Akbar.
On this occasion, Saldi also emphasized the importance of judges’ independence and resilience to various forms of intervention.This takes into account the amount of authority that the Constitutional Court has.
The opinion that judges ‘should not intervene at all’ is no longer realistic for Saldi.Especially for an institution as strong as the Constitutional Court whose authority is given directly by article 24C of the 1945 Constitution.
“The opinion that the Constitutional Court should not be intervened in is too ideal. It is natural for people to try to intervene or influence the Constitutional Court, with that much authority,” he said.
Therefore, in Saldi’s view, the main challenge lies in the ability to find judges with strong integrity so that they are not shaken by political or societal pressure.
“What we have to prepare is how to find judges who can withstand this intervention,” he continued.
RI’s judge selection and ethics are more advanced than the US
The selection process as the first step to produce truly independent judges did not escape Saldi’s attention.He compared the selection process for Supreme Court justices in the United States (US), which according to him was much more full of political interests than in Indonesia.
An example of a case when the US Supreme Court just confirmed
court of ethics
in 2023 after a case of ethical violations by Judge Clarence Thomas.For Saldi, this is ironic because even though the code of ethics has been implemented, there is still no clear enforcement mechanism.
On the other hand, Saldi claims, the Indonesian Constitutional Court already has an ethical enforcement mechanism in place.For example, the steps taken to stop Akil Mochtar and Patrialis Akbar.Both were proven to have violated the code of ethics seriously or seriously.
“This means the system is working,” he said.
Concluding his presentation, Saldi underlined the importance of maintaining personal integrity.One way is to not be active on social media to avoid the flow of unverified opinions and information.
Finally, Saldi advised law faculty students to make court decisions their main reading alongside textbooks.The consistency of the Constitutional Court’s decisions, according to him, is closely related to principles
nebis in idem
.Namely, ensuring that norms that have been tested are not tested again, unless for a different reason.
(kum/dhf)