'Legal Implications of Regional Autonomy in Indonesia'

Presented by: Dr Simon Butt (University of Sydney)

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

Short Biography:

Dr Simon Butt is a Senior Lecturer at the Law Faculty, University of Sydney, where he teaches, Indonesian Law, Dispute Resolution in Asia, Law and Investment in Asia and Intellectual Property law.

Abstract:

Decentralisation, which began in 2001, has radically altered Indonesia's legal landscape. During Soeharto's New Order, the primary function of local governments was to loyally implement national policy and law. Now local governments have far more onerous responsibilities: they must develop their own policies, draft them in legal form, and implement them. Under decentralisation, the number of regional bodies with lawmaking powers has increased significantly, leading to a proliferation of local laws. Yet many regional lawmakers have little experience in matters of law, policy and legal drafting, with the result that many of these laws are ill conceived, poorly drafted, perhaps even unnecessary. Worse, most of these laws are practically unreviewable by either citizens or the local government. This has serious ramifications for the Indonesian rule of law (Negara hukum), some of which will be discussed in this seminar.

For further information contact:

Dr Nadirsyah Hosen
Lecturer
Faculty of Law
University of Wollongong
NSW Australia
Email: hosen@uow.edu.au
Phone: +61 2 4221 4192
Fax: +61 2 4221 3188