Chief Justice:

Judges must uphold procedural and Substantive Justice

Jakarta | badilag.net/english

Judges must uphold procedural law to reveal procedural justice and enforce substantive law to secure substantive justice, says Supreme Court Chief Justice.

“We must not prioritize one over the other. Procedural law is as important as substantive law. If we ignore the formal law, then injustice will emerge. That applies likewise,” Chief Justice Harifin A. Tumpa said Friday (19/2) when delivering keynote speech at National Seminar on Religious Courts’ Substantive Law, in Jakarta.

“However, in certain circumstances we are facing two difficult choices between legal certainty and justice. Which one to opt? In my opinion, these two justices (procedural and substantive) should exist in every judge’s verdict,” he said.

Judges can combine the two justices in their judgments by using win-win solution approach. This way, judges will not violate procedural law but at the same time can uphold substantive law, he said.

The national seminar was held by PPHIMM (Pusat Pengembangan Hukum Islam dan Masyarakat Madani/Center for Islamic Law Development and Civil Society) in collaboration with Mimbar Hukum and Peradilan Magazine. Some 750 participants, consisting of legal practitioners and academicians, from all over Indonesia attended the meeting.

Many put their high expectation on the seminar to result beneficial inputs for the Indonesian parliament that is discussing the draft bill of Religious Courts Substantive Law. Several high-profile speakers participating in the event were Prof. Bagir Manan, Prof. Muhsin, Prof. Nasaruddin Umar, Prof. Zaitunah Subhan, Prof. Yudian Wahyudi, and special guest speaker Prof. Mark Cammack for South California University USA. (avicenna)