Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat, Wahiduddin Adams, Saldi Isra, and M. Guntur Hamzah delivering presentations at a focus group discussion for legal experts and academics, Friday (12/16/2022) at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Cisarua, Bogor. Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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Saturday, December 17, 2022 | 04:12 WIB

BOGOR (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court organized a focus group discussion on “The Development of Higher Legal Education Toward a Legal System with Pancasila Character” at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Cisarua, Bogor, West Java Province on Friday, December 16, 2022.

Constitutional Justice M. Guntur Hamzah delivered the first presentation in the first session. At the beginning of his presentation, he revealed that the Constitutional Court invited legal experts and academics was to instil Pancasila ideology into higher education.

He said Pancasila should not only be internalized but also become a reference for international law. “Because in several cases Pancasila has been used as a standard for testing laws,” he said.

Guntur said Pancasila values must be internalized in higher education. Legal experts and lecturers, he said, had concerns about education in Indonesia, that while today’s students have great academic abilities, they don’t show good characters. “Therefore, it is necessary to shape the attitudes and behavior of students in higher legal education,” he explained.

In addition, Guntur said, currently higher education is focused on grade point average (GPA). Reform requires changes to the assessment system in higher education, including of attitudes and behavior. “If this can be fulfilled, Indonesia will move towards a democratic religious state,” he said.

He also revealed the need for a constitutional supremacy index (ISK). “Are laws and regulations in line with the Constitution or not, including in forming higher education policies?” he said. He also explained that during his tenure as the Court’s secretary-general, he implemented Pancasila values within the Registrar’s Office and Secretariat-General of the Constitutional Court.

Also read: Court Holds FGD for Legal Experts and Academics  

Comparison of Legal Education

Next, Constitutional Justice Saldi Isra, revealed his experience while attending a short study on democracy in Birmingham, the United Kingdom. At the beginning, he recalled, he did not receive material on democratic principles, but on the history of Birmingham as the most plural city and its educational methods.

He also shared his experience of attending a short study in Japan. He revealed Japanese society’s high level of compliance with the law, which is inseparable from its higher legal education system. “When law graduates in Japan want to become law enforcers, they cannot choose their own profession,” he explained.

He said law graduates in Japan must attend education in a single institution for 13 months and have their behavior monitored. Many students failed to complete it not because they cannot perform academically, but because their conduct was deemed subpar.

“That 13-month assessment will determine their placement, whether as an advocate, a prosecutor, a judge, or whether they can choose as thee meets all the standards,” he said.

In comparison, the Indonesian higher legal education, Justice Saldi asserted, has not sufficiently introduce a deeper understanding of Pancasila, given that current curricula have not emphasized the importance of the state ideology.

“As such, there must be improvements to the curricula, so that law enforcement understands the issue of Pancasila ideology in law enforcement. Therefore, injecting ideology into the curricula is important,” he added.

He believed currently higher legal education only carry out assessments to meet accreditation requirements. He even likened higher legal education institutions to economic machine because legal entity state universities have to find funding to operate, which burdens the students. “As a consequence, higher legal education is currently able to recruit hundreds of new students for one class,” he explained.

He added that, according to the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution, the state is responsible for financing higher education. “Meanwhile, students should only be burdened daily living expenses,” he said.

Pancasila as Ideology

Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat, in the third presentation in the first session, explained how Pancasila as an ideology can be applied in various countries. Pancasila and its unique qualities, are not only applicable in Indonesia but also in various countries for their unifying quality.

He also argued against using artificial intelligence in exercising law. Exercising law, he said, requires conscience, especially in the Pancasila legal system. Pancasila, he said, must be maintained by legal education imbued with Pancasila characters.

He also encouraged experts and academics in attendance to keep introducing Pancasila to students, despite it might not benefiting them economically. Indonesian law must be directed according to the country’s vision and mission as stated in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution, especially in this era of ambiguity.

Next, Constitutional Justice Wahiduddin Adams said, based on the National Education System Law, Indonesia’s national education is based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. The Higher Education Law even states that it is organized based on Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity). “Thus, in terms of regulations, we already have a strong foundation that education must be organized based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution,” he explained. He also said Pancasila would only be strong with a strong scientific foundation, and vice versa.

The FGD and PPHKWN will take place for four days from December 15-18 2022, with 34 professors and academics from in attendance. The participants will receive material on the Constitution and constitutionalism and practice actualizing Pancasila directly.

Writer        : Ilham W. M.
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 12/28/2022 09:50 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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