Indonesian Supreme Court Declines Official Statement on Judges' Ethical Violations After KY Apology

The Indonesian Supreme Court has decided against issuing a formal clarification regarding the Judicial Commission's report detailing ethical violations by 121 judges. Supreme Court spokesperson Yanto explained that the decision to forgo an official statement stems from the KY leadership's subsequent correction of its data and an institutional apology.

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The point is because it has been corrected and the leadership of the KY has also apologized, both to the public and to IKAHI (Indonesian Judges Association), then a press release is no longer relevant.

"The point is because it has been corrected and the leadership of the KY has also apologized, both to the public and to IKAHI (Indonesian Judges Association), then a press release is no longer relevant," Yanto stated at his office in Central Jakarta on Monday, August 3, 2026. He clarified that the data in question, which indicated a significant rise in disciplinary actions against judges, pertained to the year 2025 and was handled by a previous KY commission, not the current one in 2026.

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That data, the data that was questioned by the KY, was data that came in 2025, not in 2026, and it was during the time of the old commissioners.

Earlier, on July 30, 2026, the KY had announced recommendations for sanctions against 121 judges found to have violated the Code of Ethics and Judge's Conduct (KEPH) during the January-June 2026 period. This figure represented a substantial increase from the 49 proposed sanctions during the same period the previous year. The KY detailed that among the 121 judges, four received warnings, 86 faced minor sanctions, 14 received moderate sanctions, and 17 were given severe sanctions.

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I need to clarify, to straighten out, the news that has been circulating regarding the press conference dated July 30.

Following the report's release, KY Chairman Abdul Chair Ramadhan issued an apology to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sunarto, and all judges in Indonesia. He clarified that the figures were not intended to signify an increase in ethical sanctions for 2026 but were a result of misunderstandings in media narratives. The Supreme Court and the Indonesian Judges Association have accepted the KY's apology and data correction.

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It needs to be clarified, the extent of the KEPPH violations was not intended as an increase in ethical sanctions for judges in the first semester of 2026.