The Spokesperson for the Judicial Commission (KY), Mukti Fajar Nur Dewata, stated that his party is paying attention to the judicial review decision of PKPU No. 9/2020. According to him, this decision has an impact on the implementation of honest and fair regional head elections.

Although the judicial review of the PKPU is the authority of the Supreme Court, Mukti Fajar emphasized that the supreme judges should maintain the public's sense of justice so that the decisions produced can increase public trust and support the implementation of good democracy.

"KY welcomes the public to report if there are alleged violations of the judge's code of ethics with supporting evidence, so that the report can be followed up according to existing procedures. However, we emphasize that KY only focuses on aspects of alleged violations of the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Judge Behavior," said Mukti Fajar.

Exceeding Authority

Meanwhile, a researcher at the Center for Constitutional Law Studies (PSHK) Faculty of Law, Islamic University of Indonesia, Retno Widiastuti, assessed that the judicial review decision on the age requirements for regional head candidates issued by the Supreme Court was built with weak legal considerations. The analysis of the issue of the minimum age limit is very minimal, only four pages, even though this decision has a major impact on the implementation of regional elections.

Retno stated that the Supreme Court has interpreted the law contained in Article 7 Paragraph (2) letter e of the Regional Head Election Law by adding the formula that the age requirement for regional head candidates is calculated at the time of inauguration. Theoretically and normatively, this is not the authority of the Supreme Court, but the authority of the lawmakers. "In essence, the Supreme Court has exceeded its authority," said Retno.

PSHK FH UII recommends that in deciding judicial review cases, the Supreme Court uses strong legal considerations as a form of accountability, transparency, independence, and impartiality. This is important so as not to create bad prejudices from the public towards the Supreme Court institution.

Retno also suggested that the KPU as the election organizing body immediately consult with the DPR and take legal action against the Supreme Court's decision, so that it can still be guided by the Regional Head Election Law.