In Indonesian legal practice, legal experts often provide testimony before the courts, on matters pertaining to how the law should be understood and applied. Expert testimony may even be counted as evidence. Such experts typically come from universities. Legal aid institutions have for along time found it difficult to identify persons who are both competent enough to provide such testimony on matters pertaining to criminal law and human rights, and willing to do so on a pro-bono basis. (By comparison, experts called in by business entities or the government may be very well paid). Thus, the event aimed to identify people that could act as experts in future cases.
The practice of allowing for legal experts to provide testimony before the courts is to our knowledge unique for Indonesia, though there are similarities to the amicus curae (friends of the court) briefs used in many national jurisdictions.
The event was organised by YLBHI (the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation) and the Indonesian Association of Criminal Law Lecturers. (ASPERHUKPIKI), with support from NCHR. It was originally planned for 12 participants, but the interest in the event for exceeded out initial expectations. There were more than 100 people applying, therefore the number of participants admitted was extended to 25. The experts came from universities over Indonesia, mostly Java and Sumatra but also from NTB, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
Programme
The sessions on the programme included, among others
- The legality principle in criminal law
- SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation)
- The pretrial mechanism
- Identification of evidence
- Ethical aspects
- Techniques of providing expert testimony
- Investigative interviewing
- Case studies and role play
It is hoped that the involvement of these experts will bring more human rights knowledge into the legal process.