Introducing our third distinguished keynote speaker for this year's conference, Prof. Todung Mulya Lubis from University of Melbourne! As a former ambassador, scholar, and legal practitioner, get ready to be inspired, motivated, and captivated as he takes the platform to share his reflections on the subject of "Law Reform and Global Positionality of Indonesia."
Abstract: Law reform has been a topic of discussion in Indonesia since the country gained independence. Efforts to replace colonial laws with national laws have not been easy to implement due to competing political and economic interests, yet the idea of reform is central to civil society and resistance throughout many periods of contemporary Indonesian history. While legal reform has remained on the national agenda for over 70 years, economic programs have often taken priority due to the country's history of colonization and domination by foreign corporations. A discourse paused for nearly 32 years during the period of repression under President Soeharto, the idea of legal reform resurfaced after his resignation in 1998, with Habibie's presidency launching a series of wide-ranging reforms, such as reinstating freedom of association, holding free and fair elections, and establishing new agencies like the Corruption Eradication Commission. Under Habibie's presidency, people began to see changes and a revived sense of hope that Indonesia was in the process of opening up a new chapter. Today with the enactment of a new penal code, Indonesia is in the midst of reviving a long standing debate on legal reform and officially marking a new chapter in the nation's legal frameworks. My work takes a historical look at law reform in Indonesia in order to highlight the challenges that the nation has faced in replacing colonial laws with new laws, and the implications this process has had within Indonesia’s new legal system and global positionality moving forward.