Indonesian Law In Transition: Perspectives, Challenges and Prospects of Ongoing Law Reform

Book excerpt: Indonesia vast legal system is often misunderstood due to its complexity and pluralism It is an amalgamation of inherited Dutch civic and criminal codes, 76 years of national law development under both authoritarian and democratic administrations, as well as revivals of pre-colonial Islamic and customary adat law. As Indonesia economy and population continue to grow to among the largest in the world, it has never been more important to understand how the country’s laws are evolving The world’s third-largest democracy and home to the largest Muslim population, Indonesia is a law-based nation but faces an array of challenges in the ongoing reformation of the legal system Tackling corruption, protecting the environment, court reform, and implications of technological change are just a few of the issues. For 70 years, the Faculty of Law at Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, has been producing legal scholars and practitioners to help guide the development of Indonesia’s legal system Compiled by Saldi Isra, this book is a collection of contributions from the Law Faculty’s academic staff, who identify and explain some of the major constitutional, political, social and economic issues within Indonesia’s changing legal landscape.