Umar Seno Aji

Umar Seno Aji (1915–1984) was the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia as well as the fourteenth Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights.[1]

Umar Seno Aji
5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia
In office 1974–1981
President	Suharto
Preceded by	Subekti
Succeeded by	Mujono
14th Minister of Law and Human Rights of Indonesia
In office 25 July 1966 – 28 March 1973
President	Suharto
Preceded by	Wirjono Prodjodikoro
Succeeded by	Mochtar Kusumaatmadja
Personal details
Born	5 December 1915 Surakarta, Central Java, Dutch East Indies
Died	9 November 1991 Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia
Citizenship	Indonesian
Nationality	Indonesian

Aji's appointment as minister of law in 1966 was initially viewed as a victory by supporters of the rule of law;[2] this later led to disappointment when, after his appointment, he became an opponent of judicial review.[3] While his predecessor as chief justice Subekti had been a champion of judicial independence, Aji aided in the subordination of the supreme court to the executive branch and his successor as minister of law, Mochtar Kusumaatmadja.[4][5] His exertion of pressure on courts to avoid giving citizens too many rights in tort cases were one factor that led to the establishment of formal administrative courts in the country,[6] though his politics of patronage are still credited with whittling away the judiciary's independence by the 1970s.[7][8]

In terms of jurisprudence, Aji often looked to the judiciaries of other nations for congruence with that of Indonesia. He asserted that the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence strongly resembled the United States Declaration of Independence,[9] and that Indonesian courts enforce customary law in private disputes, a concept similar to that of common law and law of equity.[10]

References

1. Adriaan Bedner, Administrative Courts in Indonesia: A Socio-legal Study, pg. 26. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2001. ISBN 9789041116338
2. Adriaan Bedner, Administrative Courts, pg. 26.
3. Adriaan Bedner, Administrative Courts, pg. 27.
4. A. Massier, The Voice of the Law in Transition: Indonesian Jurists and Their Languages, 1915-2000, pg. 6. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2008. ISBN 9789004253964
5. Kanishka Jayasuriya, Law, Capitalism and Power in Asia: The Rule of Law and Legal Institutions, pg. 250. London: Routledge, 1999. ISBN 9780415197427
6. Adriaan Bedner, Administrative Courts, pg. 31.
7. A. Massier, The Voice of the Law, pg. 246.
8. Kanishka Jayasuriya, Law, Capitalism and Power, pg. 245.
9. Roshan T. Jose, Constitutional and legal systems of ASEAN countries, pg. 57. Quezon: University of the Philippines College of Law, 1990.
10. Roshan T. Jose, Constitutional and legal systems, pg. 77.