Legal Reform for Whom

Legal reform in the form of a revision or formulation of new legislation and policies is a necessity considering that society is changing and always needs new laws.

However, the civil society protest movement against a number of pieces of legislation lately reminds us that laws are not made in the sterile chamber of the House of Representatives alone. This phenomenon shows the growth of the public’s political awareness, which is good news for Indonesian democracy, regardless of the excesses of invisible hands. Or possibly this also shows distrust of the legislature. The process of formulating laws not only requires formal legality, but also social legitimacy. How should a legal formulation be made to meet the principles of formal legality and attain social legitimacy at the same time?

Law and society