Wirjono Prodjodikoro
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Wirjono Prodjodikoro (15 June 1903 – April 1985) was the head justice of the
Indonesian Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia) is the independent judicial arm of the state. It maintains a system of courts and sits above the other courts and is the final court of appeal. It can also ...
from 1952 to 1966.


Biography

Wirjono was born in
Surakarta Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...
,
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
, on 15 June 1903. After completing his primary education, he attended the Rechtsschool in
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
, graduating in 1922. He then became a judge, later taking time to study at
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
in
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. Although Wirjono had already announced his candidacy for the
People's Representative Council The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...
, in early 1952 he was selected as head justice of the Indonesian Supreme Court, replacing Kusumah Atmaja. During his time as head justice, the court was explicitly under the
executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...
of the government. He was increasingly marginalized; for example, when he accompanied the Indonesian president to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1959, he sat with senators and congressmen, while his American counterpart,
Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
, was seated with Presidents
Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...
and
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
. In another case, Sukarno invited
Ruslan Abdulgani Ruslan Abdulgani (November 24, 1914, Surabaya — June 29, 2005, Jakarta, his first name is also spelled Roeslan) was an Indonesian government official and diplomat known for his role as a leader during the Indonesian National Revolution in ...
to breakfast when Abdulgani was supposed to be before the court as a slight to the court's powers. In 1960, Wirjono was appointed to the cabinet. Initially stating that his appointment would not affect the
separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
, when Sukarno did away with the legal concept Wirjono felt tricked and considered resigning. Towards the end of
Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...
's regime, Wirjono continued to garner greater power. Together with Minister of Justice Sahardjo, Wirjono argued for greater protection of the freedoms of criminals and suspects; this eventually won general support, as the populace was displeased with the poor performance of Prosecutor General
Goenawan Raden Goenawan was Attorney General of Indonesia from 31 December 1959 to 1962. Biography Goenawan worked as Deputy Prosecutor General under Gatot Taroenamihardja Mr. Gatot Taroenamihardja (24 November 1901 – 24 December 1971) was Indonesia's f ...
. The two then moved to civil law reform; Wirjono strongly supported Sahardjo's suggestion to rescind the current civil and commercial codes. However, this was opposed by advocates and judges; the advocates and judges argued that said proposal would increase legal uncertainty, while Wirjono argued that little would change as much had already been replaced. Wirjono eventually propagated a circular on 5 September 1963 that declared seven articles that were to be considered invalid, involving gifts, rentals, and legitimation of children born out of wedlock. Wirjono later replaced Astrawinata to become the Minister of Justice in the
Second Revised Dwikora Cabinet The second revised Dwikora Cabinet ( id, Kabinet Dwikora Yang Disempurnakan Lagi) was the Indonesian cabinet which served under President Sukarno from March 1966 until July 1966. The Cabinet was formed after Lieutenant General Suharto, using the ...
, serving from 28 March to 25 July 1966. After
Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
took greater control of the government, Wirjono was replaced by
Umar Seno Aji Umar Seno Aji (5 December 1915 – 9 November 1984) was the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia as well as the fourteenth Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights. Aji's appointment as minister of law in 1966 was init ...
. Wirjono died in April 1985.


Legal acts

Wirjono was instrumental in drafting Emergency Law Number 1 of 1951, which established that there were three levels of court in Indonesia: public, appeals, and supreme. Later, when dealing with a
Batak Karo The Karo, or Karonese, are a people of the ''Tanah Karo'' (Karo lands) and part one of Batak people sub-ethnic group from North Sumatera, Indonesia. The Karo lands consist of Karo Regency, plus neighboring areas in East Aceh Regency, Langkat Re ...
''
adat Alesis Digital Audio Tape (ADAT) is a magnetic tape format used for the recording of eight digital audio tracks onto the same S-VHS tape used by consumer VCRs. Although it is a tape-based format, the term ''ADAT'' now refers to its successo ...
'' (traditional law) inheritance case as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he and the court ruled that women had a right to an inheritance; this was against the Karo ''adat''. However, his term as chief justice saw a greater increase in state intervention, with one of his 1964 instructions stating that the justices would have to work together with the prosecution to ensure that the verdict did not stray far from the indictment.


References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * *


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prodjodikoro, Wirjono 1903 births 1985 deaths Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Indonesia People from Surakarta Leiden University alumni Government ministers of Indonesia