Adi Andojo Soetjipto

Adi Andojo Soetjipto (11 April 1932 – 12 January 2022) was an Indonesian jurist and lecturer who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia from 1981 until his retirement in 1997. Soetjipto was nominated twice for the position by the People's Representative Council in 1979 and 1980 and was installed in 1981. He was known for exposing bribery and collusion inside the Supreme Court and his criticism of the Supreme Court.

Early life

Soetjipto was born in Yogyakarta on 11 April 1932. His father, Soetjipto Wongsoatmodjo, was a court clerk in the Yogyakarta Landraad (court for indigenous people), while his grandfather worked as assistant district chief in Baron. When Adi was a year old, his father was promoted to chief clerk in the Banyumas Landraad and managed to buy a car—a luxury item at that time—with his new wage.

At the age of seven, Soetjipto's parents enrolled him at the Sokanegara Elementary School in Purwakarta. After finishing his education there in 1944, Soetjipto moved to Yogyakarta, where he studied at a local state junior high school. He graduated in 1948 and continued his high school education in Surabaya. He studied law at the University of Indonesia and graduated with a meester in de rechten (Mr.) degree in 1958.

Two years after working in Madiun, Soetjipto was promoted to become the chief judge in the Bojonegoro District Court. During his time in Bojonegoro, Adi was tasked with signing hundreds of renunciation of nationality letters without any financial compensation.

In West Irian and Java West Irian, the newest province of Indonesia at that time, was established following the incorporation of the western half of New Guinea in Indonesia on 1 May 1963. As the province lacked jurists to operate judicial bodies there, the government opted to transfer jurists from other parts of the country. At his own request, Adi was sent to the province. He received his letter of appointment as the Chief Judge of the Sukarnapura District Court through a telegram on 31 August and left for Sukarnapura (now Jayapura)—the province's capital—on 9 September. He was promoted after four years in the district court and became the Chief Judge of the West Irian Provincial Court. Adi found out through his position that several students in the university were contrary to the idea of the incorporation of the region to Indonesia. He then gathered several of these students into a discussion at the Abepura Heroes Cemetery, while sending others to study at the Satya Wacana Christian University. He was replaced by August Marpaung as chancellor on 31 June 1969.

Following his service in West Irian, Soetjipto returned to Java to serve as the Deputy Chief Judge of the Central Java Provincial Court in May 1970. Four years later, he became the Chief Judge of the West Java Provincial Court. Adi led the court in resolving pending cases, which amounted to 2,753 civil cases and 589 criminal cases at that time. The objective was accomplished in August 1978. He was installed on 18 February.

Early years Soetjipto initially started working in the court as an associate justice. He was elevated to associate chief justice after a year of service. Adi had already made his name as associate chief justice for his opposition to corruption and for uncovering a "court mafia" in the mid-1980s. Adi also endorsed the appointment of Suryono, the chief judge of the North Sumatra Provincial Court, for associate justice, despite the reluctance of the supreme justice at time, Ali Said. Adi also requested Suryono to be put under his supervision. Although Suryono eventually became associate justice, Suryono eventually passed Adi for the supreme justice post in 1994. It was around this time that Suryono turned his back against Adi.

Muchtar Pakpahan and Marsinah case Muchtar Pakpahan, a labor union leader, was arrested on charges of instigation Meanwhile, the Marsinah case involved several people who were forced to testify having murdered labor activist Marsinah in 1993.

Similarly, Soetjipto also issued a controversial decision relating to the Marsinah case. He rejected the prosecutor's appeal in the case and ordered all of the witnesses to be released. Soetjipto stated that the crown witness method applied in the case was invalid. He further cited gross irregularities in the trial process and implicitly accused the military of torturing the witnesses in order to free themselves from the accusations. Adi was also threatened by an anonymous person who claimed to have hired an assassin to kill him if he continued to uncover collusion inside the Supreme Court. The court, however, followed Soetjipto's recommendation and sentenced Gulumal to twenty days in prison. while in April 1996, Andojo wrote to Attorney General of Indonesia Singgih that the Supreme Court had accepted bribes from wealthy businessmen in several cases. The Minister of Justice at that time, Oetojo Oesman, launched an investigation of the Supreme Court led by the Court itself, and the Court found no evidence of wrongdoing. Students in Central Java and Lampung went on a hunger strike in protest against the Supreme Court's hostility towards Adi, while a theatrical production was staged to depict Adi's courage and integrity. while the Supreme Advisory Council recommended Suharto not to reprimand Adi because it would "damage the image of the Supreme Court as a state institution in the field of justice". Suharto eventually refused to sign the recommendation letter by Suryono, and Adi was retired from the supreme court on 1 May 1997.

Later life and death After his retirement from the Supreme Court, Soetjipto taught law at the University of Indonesia and the Trisakti University. The team was dissolved following the commencement of the election and was replaced by the General Elections Commission, in which Adi also became a member. Aside from handling elections, he also chaired the Joint Team on Corruption Eradication, a short-lived body that was the predecessor to the Corruption Eradication Commission. He considered the team a failure, because it had no real powers in investigating corruption cases.

Soetjipto died in Jakarta on 12 January 2022, at the age of 89.