Continuing the success of ACICIS’ Law Professional Practicum (LPP) in 2018, this year’s LPP program welcomed a total 55 students to Jakarta, the largest cohort of practicum students to date, from twenty three ACICIS member universities, including Macquarie University, La Trobe University, Murdoch University, Australian National University, UNSW Australia, and Queensland University of Technology. 50 students completed the LPP with the assistance of a $3000 New Colombo Plan mobility grant.
LPP participants, hosted by Atma Jaya Catholic University, undertook two weeks of an academic program which consisted of language classes and a series of law related seminars. The speakers, ranging from high profile government officials, academics, and practitioners, gave students a glimpse into the Indonesian legal system in preparation for their placements. The seminar series covered a wide variety of topics including significant legal issues and ongoing case studies in Indonesia that were relevant to areas of future law reform and research collaboration between Australia and Indonesia.
We went back to the Constitutional Court for our first field trip for this year’s LPP program. LPP students visited the court where they met with Pan Mohamad Faiz, a researcher for the Constitutional Court. The visit then continued with a short seminar from Mr. Faiz on the history and importance of Indonesia’s constitution and its judicial system. The visit concluded with an exclusive tour of the Constitutional Court’s private museum and a screening on the history of Indonesia’s legal system.
For the second field trip, LPP students visited the Islamic State University of Jakarta (UIN). The group was welcomed by the rectorate members from the university’s Faculty of Sharia Law. The visit started with a short seminar that introduced students to Islamic law in Indonesia and provided a course outline of the Islamic and Sharia Law units taught at the university. The visit continued with a group discussion where students were grouped together with students from UIN to discuss Islamic Law in general.
The students then commenced their four week placements at their assigned host organisations in Jakarta. ACICIS collaborated with 33 host organisations for the 2019 Law Professional Practicum, ranging from legal aid institutes, international NGOs, research centres, government institutions and law firms. These organisations included BE & Partners, Constitutional Court, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), Leks & Co, Hutchison 3 Indonesia (H3I), Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), and Telkom Indonesia. Students had the opportunity to witness first-hand the Indonesian legal fraternity and court processes. The students were supervised by mentors who were experts in their field and ACICIS’ Academic Program Officers Dr Selvie Sinaga and Ms. Mita Mulia throughout their placement.
We would like to congratulate all 55 students on their incredible work during the 2019 Law Professional Practicum. We wish all students the best for the future and hope to see them all back in Indonesia very soon!
