August 28, 2026 | 05:42 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - At a plenary meeting of the Judicial Commission (KY) on Friday, August 7, 2026, Setyawan Hartono decided to submit a dissenting opinion. The seven KY commissioners, including Setyawan, were then determining the names of Supreme Court justice candidates who had passed the final stage and would proceed to fit-and-proper hearings at the House of Representatives (DPR).
The Judicial Commission had just completed interview tests as the final stage in its selection of Supreme Court justice candidates. Setyawan rejected two names that his colleagues had agreed on. He considered their answers during the interviews unsatisfactory. "This is my responsibility to the public," the former Head of the Yogyakarta High Court told Tempo on Tuesday, August 18.
It turned out Setyawan was not alone. Another KY commissioner who had also served as a judge, Fredrik Willem Saija, likewise rejected two of the candidates slated for approval. He believed their answers showed they were not yet fit to be nominated as Supreme Court justices.
Willem then compared them with another candidate who was serving as a judge at a high court. He considered that judge more qualified to serve on the Supreme Court's criminal chamber. Yet that candidate had failed to pass the interview test. "Their experience and hours in the legal field are still more substantial than those of the other candidates," Willem said.
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