Jakarta (ANTARA) - New Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK) Suhartoyo vouched to strive to restore public trust in the institution he led, which is a place for justice seekers.

"We will do our best to restore public trust, although we realize that it is not easy to do," Suhartoyo noted in his speech after his inauguration at the MK Building here on Monday.

With humility, he called on the public to continue to support the Court.

"(This is) so that we can immediately get back on our feet, step up, and work faster in accordance with the expectations of justice seekers," he remarked.

He said the 1945 Constitution constitutionally guaranteed the MK as one of the independent judicial powers.

According to Suhartoyo, the Court must be free from interference of any party, both internal and extra-judicial power.

"We hope that all will maintain the independence of the Constitutional Court by not influencing and interfering with the independence of Constitutional Judges and the Constitutional Court, so that the enforcement of constitutional justice can be realized in accordance with our common expectations," he remarked.

Suhartoyo was selected as MK Chief Justice through deliberative consensus decision-making during a closed-door plenary meeting of judges on Thursday (November 9), replacing Anwar Usman.

He was inaugurated and sworn in based on MK Decree No. 17 of 2023 concerning the Appointment of the Chief Justice of the MK for the 2023-2028 Term of Office.

Meanwhile, Usman was dismissed as Chief Justice after the verdict of the Honorary Council of the Constitutional Court (MKMK).

The MKMK found him to have committed serious violations in deciding case No. 90/PUU-XXV/2023. The case is related to the age limit for presidential and vice presidential candidates to be at least 40 years or have experience as a regional head, both at the provincial and district or city levels.

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Translator: Fauzi, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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