Press freedom, law and politics in Indonesia : a socio-legal study

Without press freedom a constitutional democracy cannot function properly, to the extent that the degree of press freedom becomes an indicator of the level of democracy in a particular country. This socio-legal study aims to clarify how the concepts of freedom of expression and press freedom have evolved in Indonesian law; how press freedom as one of the main pillars of constitutional democracy has been guaranteed or curbed by the Indonesian legal system; how press freedom has been shaped in practice; and how this can be evaluated from a rule of law perspective. The research found press freedom in Indonesia is still under pressure, despite the demise of Soeharto’s authoritarian New Order regime in 1998. Decentralised model of governance during ‘Reformasi’ has led to new types of attacks on the press. Extra-judicial killings, physical violence, bringing criminal or civil claims against journalists and impunity of those perpetrating such acts have made it difficult for many journalists to conduct their work in a proper manner and without fear. Hence, there is still a pattern of legal and non-legal attacks against the press. The research has found that from colonial times until the present Indonesia has struggled with press freedom.Dikti ProgramRule of Law and Development: Formation, Implementation and Improvement of Law and Governance in Developing Countrie

Jalur Lambat Penanganan Korupsi [The Slow Handling of Corruption]

Rule of Law and Development: Formation, Implementation and Improvement of Law and Governance in Developing Countrie

Strengthening legal education: the SLEEI approach for innovating university courses

Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist worl

Gagalnya Penegakan Hukum dan HAM [The Failure of Law and Human Rights Enforcement]

Rule of Law and Development: Formation, Implementation and Improvement of Law and Governance in Developing Countrie

Does post-Soeharto Indonesian Law System Guarantee Freedom of the Press?

Rule of Law and Development: Formation, Implementation and Improvement of Law and Governance in Developing Countrie

Adakah Perlindungan Hukum Pers Bebas di Indonesia? [Is there legal protection of press freedom in Indonesia?]

Rule of Law and Development: Formation, Implementation and Improvement of Law and Governance in Developing Countrie

A Constitutional Dilemma: Local Elections amid of the Covid-19 Pandemic

On December 9, 2020, regional elections will be held simultaneously in 270 electoral districts across Indonesia. However, during this period the elections will be held amid the Covid-19 pandemic. This decision raised problems because the Government seemed to clash the protection of the right to health and the right to life due to the pandemic with political rights in the name of democracy. This clash ultimately created a constitutional dilemma. Elections has the potential to create election clusters considering the number of Covid-19 spread and transmission in Indonesia is still high and has not shown a significant decline. The General Election Commission (KPU) stated that the elections would implement health protocols. Nevertheless, holding elections is not just a matter of thorough preparation, but it is high risk, and also expensive. There will be a possible low voter turnout which could affect the legitimacy of the elections results. Facing this constitutional dilemma, an alternative to postponing elections through representative democracy can be an option. If it continues to be held, at least the Government must consider the safety of citizens first by controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, which clearly the mandate of constitutional rights as non-derogable rights, rights that cannot be reduced

Denying the accusation of plagiarism: power relations at play in dictating plagiarism as academic misconduct

In academia, plagiarism is considered detrimental to the advancement of sciences, and the plagiarists can be charged with sanctions. However, the plagiarism cases involving three rectors of universities in Indonesia stand out, as they could defend their stand for not committing academic misconduct despite evidence found. By analyzing the three rectors' cases, the present study aims to answer how power relations take a role in plagiarism discourse in Indonesia, particularly in determining what is considered academic misconduct and what is not. By employing critical discourse analysis, we found that when the accusation of plagiarism appears during rectorial elections, the accused could equivocate that the accusation was meant to undermine them as a political opponent. When the accused plagiarists win the election, they have more power to deny and tackle the accusations of plagiarism. The findings indicate that plagiarism issues can be politicized, in which by those in power it can be used as a tool to undermine their political opponents, whereas the accused plagiarists can claim that the actual problem is personal and not about plagiarism. It is also shown that in the real context, whether something is called plagiarism or not is subject to interpretation by those in power