The Supreme Court is committed to ensuring the rights of women and children in the settlement of cases in the judicial environment, Chief Justice M Syarifuddin has said.

“The Supreme Court leadership has a vision of increasing the access of women and children to the judiciary through the establishment of the Women and Children Working Group,” the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said at an online discussion, ‘Improving Gender Equality in the Judiciary’, as seen in Jakarta on Monday.

The Women and Children Working Group has been given the responsibility to create drafts or regulations of the Supreme Court which will then be approved at the Supreme Court leadership meeting, he informed.

So far, two Supreme Court regulations prepared by the group have been approved by the Supreme Court leadership meeting, he added.

The first regulation was Supreme Court Regulation Number 3 of 2017 pertaining to Guidelines for Prosecuting Women in Facing the Law, Syarifuddin said. It is meant to serve as a guide to Supreme Court justices and judges under the Supreme Court in four judicial circles, he informed.

The four courts —general courts dealing with criminal and civil cases, religious courts dealing with religious and jinayah civil cases, military courts dealing with military criminal cases and military administration— are included in government administrative disputes and state administrative courts, he said.

Moreover, the group has compiled Supreme Court Regulation Number 5 of 2019 on Guidelines for Adjudicating Marriage Dispensations, he disclosed.

The regulation is meant to serve as a foundation for judges handling cases of marriage of children aged under 19 in general, civil, and religious courts, he added.

“The goal is for judges to really pay attention to the best interests of children, especially girls who have been the object of child marriage,” Syarifuddin remarked.

Supreme Court Regulation Number 5 of 2019 was issued with the aim of avoiding or preventing child marriage, he said.

Syarifuddin emphasized that the two regulations are evidence or proof of the Supreme Court’s commitment to ensuring the fulfillment of women’s and children’s rights in settling cases.

Source: Antara News