Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat giving a public lecture for the Law Faculty of the University of Tanjungpura, Friday (11/5/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Hamdi.

---

Friday, November 4, 2021 | 22:09 WIB

PONTIANAK, Public Relations—In principle, after the amendment to the Constitution there were changes in the Indonesian legal system, where the term rechtsstaat was removed so that Indonesia is a law-based state as stated in Article 1 paragraph (3) of the Constitution. This is evidence of Indonesia’s effort in building its own legal system—not only referring to civil law or common law but also acculturating it with customary laws and religious laws recognized in Indonesia, said Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat starting his public lecture on “Building Law with Pancasila Character” at the Law Faculty of the University of Tanjungpura (Untan) on Friday, November 4, 2021.

He also explained that the same spirit drove the founding of the Constitutional Court (MK), which not only functions as the guardian of the Constitution but also as the guardian of state ideology Pancasila, the nation’s philosophy. Maintaining the nation’s philosophy is the duty of all citizens, including legal experts. All must think about aspects of Indonesian society characterized by Pancasila. For example, in the context of a welfare state, it is important that Indonesia not only becomes a welfare state, but a religious welfare state.

Justice Arief also said the state must emphasize the development of Indonesians as a whole—not only in political, economic, cultural, and welfare aspects, but also spiritually. He quoted first president Soekarno’s message that can be used as a guideline in competing in today’s global world and the era of openness. Indonesia must continue paying attention to sovereignty in politics, independence in the economy, and personality in culture. These three things are strongly supported and filtered through the Pancasila philosophy.

He concluded the lecture by talking about the challenges of disruption to information technology faced by legal experts and law students today. Information technology provides a lot of convenience and speed, but it is necessary to pay attention to how hate speech spreads widely among Indonesian people.

“Students must realize today’s social media is full of false information that is repeated until it finally becomes the truth (the post-truth era),” he said.

Justice Arief also urged the students to maintain and develop their personalities and to learn local wisdom in accordance with the principles of Pancasila.

The hybrid (onsite-virtual) collaborative lecture between the Court and Untan was attended by 250 participants. It was part of the inauguration of the smartboard mini courtroom at the university. Untan Rector H. Garuda Wiko and Untan Law Faculty Dean Hasyim Azizurrahman was in attendance. The Court’s the Head of Public Relations and National Affairs Department Fajar Laksono Suroso and the Head of the International Affairs Division Immanuel Hutasoit.

Perennial Law Podcast

Justice Arief also appeared as a guest on Untan’s perennial law podcast’s series “Discussion on Law” (DIKTUM) with law lecturer Abunawas as host. On the podcast, he talked about his interest in social sciences and his dream of becoming an instructor when growing up.

He also reminded the listeners, especially the young generation, not to contribute to the spread of bad influences. He appealed to them to continue developing a lifestyle that is in accordance with Pancasila.

The perennial law podcast is a new program by Untan aimed at educating its students on the developments in the legal field. Justice Arief had the honor to be the first guest on the podcast, which will be inaugurated on November 8, 2021.

Writer  : NL
Editor  : Nur R.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 11/8/2021 10:22 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

---