President Witnesses Swearing In Of New Constitutional Court Justices

Jakarta, March 21 (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attended the swearing in ceremony of two new justices of the Constitutional Court to fill vacancies following the arrest of Chief Justice Akil Mochtar for alleged corruption and the retirement of Justice Haryono. The two new justices - Dr Wahiduddin Adams and Prof Aswanto - were appointed based on the Presidential Decree Number 19 of 2014. The two of them were recently elected through a vote by the House of Representatives` Commission III, beating the two other candidates namely Ni`matul Huda and Atip Latipulhayat. The four were chosen upon recommendations from an expert team based on their knowledge of constitutional law as well as their performances in a test. Wahiduddin Adams obtained his doctorate degree from the Shariah and Law Faculty of State Islamic University of Syarif Hidayatullah in Jakarta. He was a retired staff member of the ministry of legal affairs and human rights and once worked under former ministers Patrialis Akbar and Mahfud MD, Constitutional Court justice and former Constitutional Court chief justice respectively. Aswanto, meanwhile, obtained his doctorate degree in criminal law from state Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java. He is now professor and also dean of the Law Faculty of state Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi.