Designing the Authority of the Judicial Commission in Upholding the Honour, Capacity, and Welfare of Judges in Indonesia

Abstract

One of the constitutional mandates of the Judicial Commission of Indonesia is to safeguard the honour, dignity, and conduct of judges, as stipulated in Article 24B(1) of the 1945 Constitution and Article 13(b) of Law No. 22 of 2004 on the Judicial Commission. Conceptually, however, Article 20 of Law No. 18 of 2011 redefines the Commission primarily as an external supervisory body over judicial conduct, without clearly delineating its role in preserving judicial honour and dignity. Moreover, Article 20(2) of the same law extends the Commission’s responsibilities to include promoting the capacity and welfare of judges, operationalized through ethics training under Judicial Commission Regulation No. 3 of 2013. This regulatory framework leaves two key issues unresolved: first, the precise scope of the Commission’s role in upholding judicial honour and dignity; and second, the extent of its authority in advancing judicial welfare. Employing a normative legal research method with statutory and conceptual approaches, this article finds that the Judicial Commission lacks a comprehensive framework to implement its constitutional mandate effectively. It argues that the Commission’s authority should be restructured to function not only as an external supervisory body but also as a guardian of judicial integrity and an institution empowered to ensure that judges’ welfare is adequately supported by the executive branch.