UGM professor urges MUI fatwa banning political meddling in judges
The proposal came at the VIII Indonesian Islamic Community Conference, with age-limit changes for judges cited as political interference.
UGM constitutional law professor Zainal Arifin Mochtar has asked the Majelis Ulama Indonesia to issue a fatwa prohibiting political interference in the judiciary. He delivered the request at the fifth plenary session of the VIII Indonesian Islamic Community Conference in Jakarta on Saturday, July 25. Zainal said political meddling in the courts had become severe and had reached the Mahkamah Agung and the Mahkamah Konstitusi. He cited alleged interference through changes to judges' age limits, both to replace constitutional judges and to extend service until age 70 through amendments to the law. Such practices, he said, erode judicial independence, even though a clean and independent judiciary is a key feature of a democratic state.