Human Rights Training for Indonesian Judges

A one-week online human rights training for 44 Indonesian judges began on October 12. Two Norwegian Supreme Court Judges presented at the training, as well as the Chief Justice of the Indonesian Supreme Court.

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Picture: some of the training participants. (photo: Leip)

 

The opening session on “The Role of the Court in Implementing Responsibilities on Human Rights” was open to the public and had more than 200 participants, in addition to the judges themselves. Opening remarks were given by the Indonesian Chief Justice Muhammad Syarifuddin, Norway’s Ambassador to Indonesia Vegard Kaale and Liza Farizah, executive director of the NGO LeIP (the Institute for an Independent Judiciary) followed by a panel consisting of Supreme Court Justice Sofyan Sitompul, Norwegian Supreme Court Judge Aage Thor Falkanger, Leip Researcher Jane Aileen Tedjaseputra and Prof. David Cohen from the University of Stanford.

On the second day of the training, Norwegian Supreme Court Judge Erik Møse, who also has served as judge at the European Court of Human Rights and President at the ICC tribunal for Rwanda, held a 1,5 hour session on ‘the Role of the Courts in Upholding Human Rights as Part of Rule of Law’. This sessions was well received and triggered many questions from the participants.

Indonesia has ratified all major international human rights instruments, and human rights are also protected by the Constitution and the Human Rights Act. However, there are relatively few examples of human rights being explicitly enforced by courts. One of the reasons for this has to do with knowledge: There is a need for better human rights knowledge among the judiciary. This is being addressed through a series of training activities carried out by the Indonesian Supreme Court in cooperation with LeIP. Perhaps this work is already bearing fruits as a recent court decision found that the government’s recent internet shutdown in Papua is in violation of human rights.

The current training will continue until October 19. It is arranged by the Indonesian Supreme Court in cooperation with the LeIP, financed by the Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta and supported by the University of Stanford Centre of Human Rights and International Justice and NCHR.

Published Oct. 14, 2020 2:40 PM - Last modified Mar. 23, 2023 10:38 AM