Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani delivering a national legal speech at the 100th Anniversary Celebration Session of the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia, Monday 28th October 2024. Public Relations Photo/Bayu

---

DEPOK, Public Relations of the Court - Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani delivered a national legal speech with the theme "Enlarging Progressive Legal Space Based on Ideology and the State Constitution for Legal Education in the Second Century" at the 100th Anniversary Celebration Session of the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia, Monday 28th October 2024, at UI Convention Hall, Depok.

Starting his speech, Justice Arsul explained that the Court saw the development of a progressive legal space in higher legal education in Indonesia. Furthermore, Justice Arsul said that the development of a progressive legal space refers to a number of petition for review of legal norms against the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

"In the last two years, many law faculty students from various universities in Indonesia have become petitioners who have filed petitions for review of legal norms which they believe do not meet the principles of the rule of law, protection of human rights and good democracy as intended in the constitution, UUD NRI 1945. Apart from assessing the constitutionality of the legal norms that are the object of review in their petition, we catch the spirit and way of thinking with a progressive legal approach in their petition," he explained.

Justice Arsul continued, a number of FHUI students and lecturers were also part of the citizens who became petitioners for judicial review, this shows their enthusiasm to participate in the struggle and be responsible for creating laws that are fair and beneficial for the life of the nation and state in Indonesia. They show excellent qualities of critical thinking and social empathy, of course this is because of the contributions of academics and lecturers at FHUI.

"In my records, there have been at least 25 (twenty five) petitions for judicial review submitted by 17 (seventeen) students and several lecturers of FH UI over the last two years. Likewise, a number of FHUI academics and lecturers provided expert statements at the Court. "Several of these petitions were granted by the Indonesian Constitutional Court, including decisions regarding norms prohibiting campaigning on campuses or universities and the term of office of leaders of advocate organizations," he explained.

The Court also sees the submission of petitions for judicial review by these students as one of the positive outputs of legal education that provides space for progressive law. "Therefore, we believe that if the space for progressive legal orientation and approaches continues to be enlarged in our legal education, the principles of a democratic and fair legal state as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia will be better realized," he said.

However, in the context of this progressive legal orientation and approach, Justice Arsul emphasized the importance of placing Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia as the basic ideology and norms of the state. Pancasila as a human moral and ethical system in developing law, which includes Godly values, Human values, Unity values, People's values, and Justice values ​​must still be the basis for legal education that provides space for progressive law.

Closing his speech, Justice Arsul explained that the paradigm and spirit of progressive law which is manifested in various forms of participation in state life, including judicial review in the Court, must still be based on state ideology, Pancasila and the Constitution, the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. Because the state ideology and constitution are the resultant of the agreement of the Indonesian people which is the guideline for state life for all Indonesian people. Thus, the progressive law that is to be realized does not necessarily transplant various thoughts and understandings from the western world, especially when the basis of thought and understanding from the western world is secularism, liberalism or marxism. (*)

 

Author            : Bayu Wicaksono
Editor            : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator       : Donny Yuniarto (NL)

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.

---