JAKARTA — The House of Representatives (DPR) approved 11 candidates for Supreme Court (MA) judges and three candidates for ad hoc judges during a plenary session at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday (August 18, 2026).
The decision was made after all candidates passed the eligibility and suitability test, or fit and proper test, conducted by Commission III of the DPR on August 12-13, 2026.
The plenary session was chaired by Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad. Chairman of Commission III Habiburokhman had previously presented the results of the eligibility test for the 14 candidates proposed by the Judicial Commission (KY).
After the report was delivered, Dasco asked members of the DPR to approve the results of the selection process. The lawmakers present subsequently expressed their approval.
11 Supreme Court Judge Candidates
The 11 candidates approved by the DPR will serve in several chambers of the Supreme Court.
Four candidates were approved for the Criminal Chamber: Syamsul Arief, Sugiyanto, Sudharmawatiningsih, and Dhifla Wiyani.
The Civil Chamber will have two new candidates, Sobandi and Nurmaningsih.
For the Religious Chamber, the DPR approved Musthofa and Mamat Ruhimat.
Meanwhile, three candidates were approved for the Tax division of the Administrative Court Chamber: Maftuh Effendi, L.Y. Hari Sih Advianto, and Yeheskiel Minggus T.
Three Ad Hoc Judges
In addition to the 11 Supreme Court judge candidates, the DPR also approved three candidates for ad hoc judge positions.
Two of them are candidates for ad hoc Human Rights (HAM) judges, namely Edwin Partogi Pasaribu and Roki Panjaitan.
The third candidate, Sudiyo, was approved as an ad hoc judge for corruption cases at the Supreme Court.
Passed Commission III Selection
Before being brought to the plenary session, all 14 candidates underwent a two-day eligibility and suitability test conducted by Commission III of the DPR.
The process took place on August 12-13, 2026. The candidates had previously gone through the selection process conducted by the Judicial Commission.
Commission III said all parliamentary factions had approved the 14 candidates proposed by the Judicial Commission. The approval at the commission level was reached by consensus.
The selection process covered candidates for Supreme Court judges as well as ad hoc judges for human rights and corruption cases. During the initial selection conducted by the Judicial Commission, there were 175 applicants for Supreme Court judge positions, 40 applicants for ad hoc human rights judge positions, and 60 applicants for ad hoc corruption judge positions.
With the DPR’s approval during the plenary session, the 14 candidates will proceed to be appointed as Supreme Court judges and ad hoc judges according to their respective chambers.
List of 14 Judges Approved by the DPR
- Syamsul Arief — Criminal Chamber
- Sugiyanto — Criminal Chamber
- Sudharmawatiningsih — Criminal Chamber
- Dhifla Wiyani — Criminal Chamber
- Sobandi — Civil Chamber
- Nurmaningsih — Civil Chamber
- Musthofa — Religious Chamber
- Mamat Ruhimat — Religious Chamber
- Maftuh Effendi — Administrative Court, Tax Division
- L.Y. Hari Sih Advianto — Administrative Court, Tax Division
- Yeheskiel Minggus T. — Administrative Court, Tax Division
- Edwin Partogi Pasaribu — Ad Hoc Human Rights Judge
- Roki Panjaitan — Ad Hoc Human Rights Judge
- Sudiyo — Ad Hoc Corruption Judge
