He was well known as law professor of the University of Indonesia, and actively involved in the process of Indonesian constitutional reform and the political transformation to democracy.

As scholar, he often makes media appearances and offers comments on a range of public policy issues, until he was elected Chief Justice of the Court.

Akil, a former politician from the Golkar party, had been a justice of the Constitutional Court since 2008 and has a reportedly conservative approach in legal matters.

"[4] On 2 October 2013, Mochtar was arrested by anti-corruption officials for allegedly accepting at least $250,000 in bribes, relating to a disputed election in Kalimantan.

[7] In the subsequent legal process, numerous instances of allegedly corrupt payments that Akil had received as a justice were presented by prosecutors.

Hamdan, a former member of parliament from the Muslim-based Crescent Star Party (Partai Bulan Bintang or PBB), was elected by his colleagues after two rounds of voting.

Hamdan spoke of the need to reform faith in the court and said he would create a permanent ethics council to oversee the conduct of justices.

He came under criticism over alleged backroom deals regarding the House’s inquiry into the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) under the 2014 Legislative Institutions Law (MD3), which was under review by the Constitutional Court.