Antasari has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for ordering the murder of Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, a prominent businessman who headed a state-owned pharmaceuticals firm, PT Rajawali Putra Banjaran.
Explaining the reason behind the ruling, MK justice Anwar Usman said that pursuit of justice could not be limited by time or formality regulations allowing judicial review to be carried out only once.
It is not impossible that "after a decision is made in a judicial review case a new substantial evidence is found, he added, when reading legal considerations over a decision to review Article 268 paragraph 3 of Law Number 8 of 1981 on the Code of Criminal Procedures (KUHAP).
Anwar however said that the decision to determine whether or not the evidence presented was really new was in the hands of the Supreme Court that has the authority to conduct a judicial review trial.
Anwar said that a judicial review as an extraordinary legal effort is historically and philosophically an effort made to protect the interest of a convict.
"Judicial review is different from other legal avenues such as an appeal and a cessation which are common legal avenues," he said.
He said common legal avenues are connected with legal certainty and so limitation is needed to assure certainty while a judicial review as an extraordinary avenue is aimed at finding justice and material truth and so it may not be limited by time or formality regulation.
In view of that MK, he said, met Antasari Azhars demand for a review of Article 268 paragraph 3 of the KUHAP that would close his chance to file a judicial review for more than once.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
