Although Wirjono had already announced his candidacy for the People's Representative Council, in early 1952 he was selected as head justice of the Indonesian Supreme Court, replacing Kusumah Atmaja.[2] During his time as head justice, the court was explicitly under the executive branch of the government.[2] He was increasingly marginalized; for example, when he accompanied the Indonesian president to the United States in 1959, he sat with senators and congressmen, while his American counterpart, Earl Warren, was seated with Presidents Sukarno and Dwight D. Eisenhower.[3] In another case, Sukarno invited Ruslan Abdulgani to breakfast when Abdulgani was supposed to be before the court as a slight to the court's powers.[3]
In 1960, Wirjono was appointed to the cabinet.[4] Initially stating that his appointment would not affect the separation of powers, when Sukarno did away with the legal concept Wirjono felt tricked and considered resigning.[4] Towards the end of Sukarno's regime, Wirjono continued to garner greater power.[2][5]
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.[6] The two then moved to civil law reform; Wirjono strongly supported Sahardjo's suggestion to rescind the current civil and commercial codes.[6] 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.[6] 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.[7]
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.[1] Later, when dealing with a Batak Karoadat (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.[5] 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.[8]
Aning S., Floriberta (2005). 100 Tokoh yang Mengubah Indonesia : Biografi Singkat Seratus Tokoh Paling Berpengaruh dalam Sejarah Indonesia di Abad 20 [100 Figures that Changed Indonesia: Brief Biographies of the One Hundred Most Influential Figures in 20th Century Indonesian History] (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Narasi. ISBN978-979-756-475-9.
Bahari, Adib (2011). Pendekar Hukum Indonesia [Indonesian Legal Giants] (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Pustaka Yustisis. ISBN978-979-3411-04-0.
Pompe, Sebastiaan (2005). The Indonesian Supreme Court : A Study of Institutional Collapse. Studies on Southeast Asia. Vol. 39. Ithaca: Southeast Asia Program. ISBN978-0-87727-738-5.
Further reading
Umar, Rika; Kutoyo, Sutrisno; Kartadarmadja, Mohammad Soenjata, eds. (1983). Prof.Dr. Wirjono Prodjodikoro, SH : Hasil Karya dan Pengabdiannya [Prof.Dr. Wirjono Prodjodikoro, SH : His Works and Deeds] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Department of Education and Culture. OCLC65120356.
