Indonesia
Amid mounting public attention over the honorary teacher case in South Konawe, Prof. Dr. Achmad Sodiki, Professor of Law at Universitas Islam Malang (UNISMA), stated that the controversy reflects failures within law enforcement institutions in handling the matter properly.
He added that the situation has been aggravated by media framing shaped by the logic that “bad news is good news.” Effective judicial processes, he argued, rarely gain public exposure, while shortcomings in the justice system dominate headlines as seen in the South Konawe case.
UNISMA professor who previously served as a justice of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia, delivered the remarks during a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) hosted by the Master in Law Program at UNISMA’s Postgraduate Program.
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In addition to Prof. Sodiki, Prof. H. M. Mas’ud Said spoke at the forum, held on 16 November 2024 at the East Java Studies Center Hall.
The Director of UNISMA’s Postgraduate Program examined the state of legal education from a governance perspective.
“Before addressing the broader trajectory of legal education in Indonesia, I will first reflect on how legal education is administered at our own institution,” said the alumnus of Flinders University.
During the session, the AusAID Scholarship Alumni Awardee also presented benchmarking insights on leading law schools in Indonesia and abroad.
In Indonesia, universities ranked in the WUR by Subject for Law and Legal Studies include Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Padjadjaran, Universitas Brawijaya, and Universitas Diponegoro.
Across Europe, universities offer comprehensive legal education programs spanning criminal law, civil law, human rights law, and other specialized fields.
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The FGD, titled The Future of Legal Education in Indonesia: Reflections and Insights from Prof. Dr. Achmad Sodiki, explored structural legal challenges in Indonesia, from questions of integrity to the sociology of law.
“Law students must be introduced early to practical legal instruments, such as drafting powers of attorney and handling everyday legal disputes,” Prof. Sodiki emphasized.
“The public expects law students to possess fundamental legal competencies. Even basic matters such as preparing a power of attorney or filing a claim must be fully mastered,” he concluded. (AL/PPS)
