Acting Secretary-General Heru Setiawan and dean of William & Mary Law School A. Benjamin Spencer signing a MoU, Thursday (12/8/2022) in Williamsburg, Virginia. Photo by MKRI.

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Saturday, December 9, 2022 | 16:08 WIB

WILLIAMSBURG (MKRI) — After sending Juris Doctor (J.D.) students for four consecutive years to take part in an international internship program at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI), William & Mary Law School has officially become the MKRI’s partner in the United States.

This was marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding by Heru Setiawan, acting Secretary-General of the Constitutional Court, and A. Benjamin Spencer, dean of William & Mary Law School, on Thursday, December 9, 2022 in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States.

The signing was witnessed by Constitutional Justices Saldi Isra and M. Guntur Hamzah, and was attended by the Head of the AACC Permanent Secretariat and International Relations Department Sri Handayani, and expert assistant to constitutional justices Pan Mohamad Faiz, and minister counselor of the Indonesian Embassy in Washington D.C., Arifianto Sofiyanto.

William & Mary Law School is the oldest law school in the United States. John Marshall, the 4th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who decided on the historic case Marbury v. Madison (1803), is one of its alumni. It is also a center for judicial technology research in the United States.

In a meeting with the MKRI delegation, Professor Catherine Stahl, the Director of the LL.M Program, explained various academic programs that MKRI employees could participate in, such as residential and online LL.M programs as well as visiting scholars. In collaboration with the National Center for State Court (NCSC), the MKRI plans to send its employees starting next year to take part in a recharging program to the U.S., including at William & Mary Law School. The program will be tailor-made to improve the capacity and quality of the MKRI’s staff members.

On the same day, the MKRI delegation also had a discussion with Professor Fred Lederer, Director of the Center for Legal and Court Technology, at the McGlothin Courtoom Demo. Professor Lederer explained the development of technology used in courts throughout the United States and simulated the use of a three-dimensional (3D) hologram video to listen to the statements of the parties in a remote hearing.

“In several courts, the examination process can be carried out virtually. Judges may also preside over proceedings from outside the courtroom. They generally use Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Webex. However, we are currently building an online platform specifically for the trial process so that security is guaranteed,” explained Prof. Lederer to answer questions from the MKRI delegation regarding remote hearing.

To ensure cooperation with William & Mary Law School, the MKRI delegation also held a meeting with the President of the NCSC, Mary McQueen. The NCSC is a research partner of William & Mary Law School, whose headquarters is next to the law school. In the meeting with the NCSC, McQueen gave her full support for the collaboration between the NCSC and William & Mary Law School for an education program and professional training for MKRI employees. She also offers a certified program run by the NCSC through the Institute of Court Management (ICM) that is intended for court management leaders in the form of Certified Court Manager (CCM), Certified Court Executive (CCE), and ICM Fellows Program.

To concretely follow up on the recharging program plan, apart from a series of virtual meetings, the NCSC representatives will also be invited to Indonesia in early 2023 to finalize the program’s concept and curriculum.

Writer        : Sri Handayani
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 12/12/2022 10:50 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.

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