ENGLISH FOR LAW

Learners: Students of Law Faculty

Meeting: 5times in a month

Time: 120minutes/ meeting

FIRST MEETING:

THE BEGINNING OF LAW AND THE "ADAT RECHT"

I. As far as we know, the law began with the family. The father was the head of the family, and
the orders he gave, the rules of conduct made by him, were the law.

II. As families expanded and the members went out on their own, the family group became
known as a clan, subject to the rule of the man who was selected to head it. Eventually (akhir-
nya), clans in the same area joined forces and became members of a tribe. They chose (memilih)
a chief to head this larger group.

III. The chief of the tribe made v u:es or laws to govern the dealings (hubungan; kegiatan) of one
clan with another. but the head of the clan still made the laws for the family group If a tribal law
was broken, the cftiefdecided the guilt (kesalahan) or innocence of the person accused and fixed
(menetapkan) the punishment. The head of a clan judged (memertimbangkan) and determined
the punishment for those who broke the rules, within his family group.

IV. Those clan and tribal laws were not written down for countless centuries-we don't know how
many-, but they were handed down (diteruskan) by word of moutha from one generation to
another. Some ofthem are actually still in force today. For example, a man who was a member of
one clan Could not marry a woman from the same clan; he had to choose (memilih) his bride
from another clan of the same tribe.

V. In ancient times, there were few property rights (hak). It was considered (dianggap) that God
owned all the land and that the members of any tribe who settled on the land could use it.
Farming, hunting (berburu) and fishing were the main ways of making a living then, and the
tribes moved around a great deal. After a tract of land had been worked for a few generations, the
tribe went on to look for (mencari) richer soil and settled somewhere else. Wars (peperangan) of
subjugation were avoided (dihindari) whenever possible.

VI. When a tribe moved, the laws of the old land became (menjadi) the laws of the new land.
These laws were changed or new laws were made only as the wanderers found new customs in
new areas--or as the traits of the people changed. Still, the laws were handed down by word of
mouth and not written down because people had not yet invented writing, even on stone tablets.
VII. In Indonesia, laws of the land date back to (mulai semenjak) the Dutch colonial rule. It was
the Dutch who introduced European laws to the country. then known as the Netherlands East
Indies. As early as 1824, there was a concept of separate (ter»isalt) law made by the Dutch
government. The population Nras then divided (dibagi) into three groups as far as laws were
concerned, namely: Europeans, natives pribunri) anu forei,.:n orventals. Netherlanders living in
the Indies were subject to the laws for Europeans; the indigenous inhabitants were subject to the
laws for natives, whereas (sedangkan) the foreign Asians were not subject to either of the above.
They were subjest to a separate ordinance.

VIII. During the Dutch colonial rule, the laws for the natives were primarily the adat laws.
Snouck Hurgronye, the Dutch Indonesian-Arabic scholar and statesman of the nineteenth cen-
tury, first pointed out (menjelaskan) that, since customary practices (kebiasaan) : mong most of
the peoples of the archipelago were dominated (dipengaruhi) by the Arabic word adat, or custom,
adat also had legal connotations-so, adat became `adatrecht' in Dutch, or `adat law' in English.

IX. Many historians (ahli sejarah) stated that the traits or customs of the people were the basis of
adat law. Though deeply rooted in traditional culture. adat is an embodiment of the tradi tional
values (nilai) and morals aj well as ar. expression of universal values. Today adat law still
regulates (mengatur) such aspects of life as marriage (perkawinon), birth (kelahiran), death,
inheritance (warisan), and divorce (perceraian).

X. When speaking of the origin of laws in Indonesia, one must go back to the period when the
Indonesian archipelago was under Dutch Colonial rule. The Dutch brought with them the
European system oi government and other aspects of life, and European law was one of them. As
has been previously mentioned (disebutkan), there were separate laws in the country under the
colonial government in 1826. Different groups of people were subject to different laws.
However, by 1848, there was a start towards codification of the law for the population along
European lines by enacting (pengesahan) a Police and Procedure Code for Natives and Foreign
Orientals of Java and Madura in 1848, and a Criminal Code for Natives in 1872. Th.is (maka),
even beginning from the Dutch Colonial rule, tile nature of the law to be applied (yang
digunakan) to each group of the different groups of peoples living in the country was one of the
most difficult policy problems in the Netherlands East Indies.

X1. Another factur which is of great significance in the study of the origin of law in Indonesia is
the existence of the different ethnic groups (suku) in the country. The various ethnic groups have
different cultural backgrounds, value : and customs with regard to many aspects of communal
life. For instance (rupamanya), concerning marriage, the Minangkabau follow the matrilineal
system, while (sedangkan) the Batak adopt (memakai) the patrilineal system. In the Batak clan
system, members of the clan should 2ssist one another in marriage ceremonies, and a certain type
of hierarchy in the marriage organization, such as who should be the speaker, is decided by
custom. The bilateral system is common to most of the regions of Indonesia, including
(termasuk) Java and Madura, East Sumatr«, Riau, Aceh, etc.

Condensed from:
1. I, The Lawyer, by Luis Kutner
2. Adat Law in Indonesia, by Gautama Sudargo
3. indonesia, 1986 edition
SECOND MEETING:

COMMUNICATIO:V FOCUS I: Making Informal Requests - The Common Law

The following diaio2 contains Sentt;IlCeS Using the basic tense, tnodal auxiliaries and infonnal
request. The verbs and requwts are printe~.: 1111 bold facc.
f?: I-Ii Ratu, how are you doing'.'

B: I'm fine, thanks. Say, did vou atte:ld the discussion groun yesterday morning?
A: Yes, I did... We laissed you... Where were you?

B: I'm sorry, ( couldn't Make it yesterday. I spent the whole day at the library lool:ing for books on
law... V'hy dun'; you tell me about the discussion new... I know a smart y al like you can do it with
ease (derrgan ntudah).
A: Lets g 3 to the cafeteria. We can talk and eat at the same time... The tc pic of our discussion was
primarily about law in the advance i countries like the United States and England... You see in tho :e
advanced countries, the citizen is cared for and governed by the law from the cradle (buaian) to the
grave (kubu -an)... In brief (singkatnya) all human conducts are regulated (diatur) by law.
g: Hla... ma's a ~ imc:. ~.,Linb Iitcu, y... There is a legal aspe,-t to every person's activity...
A: That's right... You cannot do this and you cannot do that... B: Or you must do this and you must
do that...
A: Precisely... A person cannot be fr:c fro:n some kind of regulation. But the most interesting part of
the discussion was the civil law (hukum perdat'a) and common law systems in the western world.
B: What about those systems?

A: Well, the civil-law countries in which legal concepts, principles and procedures have their remote
origins (a.salnya) in "Roman law" are expressed in comprehensive (luas; nteliputi bany-ak Irao
codes (pc•rund(mg-undangan) like the Code of Napoleon.
B: What about the common-law countries?

A: The countries are the Unite I States and England... The common law is not a Ic`~islative~creation.
Rather, it comes into existence essentially as a by-;o iduct of the day-to-day adjudication
('nel).rrrrsnm Irakim atuu pen(yculilnn) of disputes (pcrselisil(m)... But that's tile most diff icult part
of our disc;vssiol;... There ilr-- SII11plC:' IssUCS SUCII aS tile I)i'InlarVt1lilCtlOn ulnd practice of law,
and tu apply the law in speciti0 cases.
B: 1V'oufd vou please ~,, ive an ev.ample oi applyin- the law in specific cases?
A: V'eII. lor csanlplc: yOu 0''scrve tile work of the advocatc (I)CM;ucar(l) and the ju dg u (iorkinr) in the
process oftrylill! a::d decidin~~ cases. •'. law _'er investigates the facts and the evidence (hukli) by
conferri ~g with his client, interviewing witnesses (.raksi), and reviewing documents for trials
(persidangan)... B}' the way, did you attend the trial of the murder of the model in South Jakarta
court?
B: Yes, I did... Not very interesting, I'm afraid... But there are other cases too that are not resolved in
court but they require (memerlukan) the aid (baatuan) of lawyers.
A: Of course, people need la%N yers as counselors and negotiators
in office. The lawyer as counselor and negotiator may aid in shaping a transaction to avoid
(menghindari) disputes or legal difficulties in the future.
A: All right, suppose (unrpamanya) you have a business activity with your friend. In a business you
make profit, right? Right... So you must have a formal paper or contract stating the profit sharing
(pembagian untung) to avoid disputes how much you should get from the profit. With the aid of a
lawyer, you sign a contract mentioning (menyebutkan) that the profit sharing is 50%-SO%.
B: Well, that makes sense... But now I'm hungry; why don't we get something to eat, OK?
A: OK. Wonderful idea...

C O M M U N I C A T I O : V F O C U S IL- The Attorney General and the President of the New Order
Read the follow'ina dialog thoroughly; observe the use of the basic tenses already discussed in this
chaptPr and try to tell the class the important points. Use short sentences to do this cornunicative ex -
ercise; however, grarnmav should be correct.
Dan-: Hi, Ninin, I'm Qlau'to see you here... You promised to continue our discussion on the Era of
Reformation, didn't you? Ninin: Yes I did, but what exactvy do you want :o know about this chaotic
situation? There are so many t! -,ings happening now... What shall I tell you'?
Dan-: Well, since we are in the field of law, [ think I'm most interested ; n this era from its legal
context.
Ninin: Don't you read the newspaper?.... After 32 years of supressive and authoritarian rule, we are now
in total crisis... And worse still, there are still people out there who are trying to benefit
(memanfaatkan) from our miserable condition... Some business people are hoarding (menumpuk) the
basic commodities to be sold when prices ofthose things are extremely high. Such people are, indeed,
immoral. Dang: That's the point, you see, I did not read the newspaper; I
just Qot back here last night from a trip abroad... Will you please tell me the legal aspects of
events.
Ninin: Well, this is what I just read in the newspaper... Early September this year the former president
Suharto rnade a televised statement that he did not possess a single cent of saving abroad. But
Forbes magazine in the United States and other sources such as the Internet, estimated in July
this year that the president's fortune was worth US4 billion.
Dang: My, that's a big sum of money...

Ninin: That's his personal wealth (kekayaan) allegedly amassed (ditnmprrk) illegally over his 32 years
in power... According to students extremist group, that is his wealth which he looted
(menjarah) from ahe poor people of Indonesia. . LatP in September, the president was
summoned (dipanggin by the Attorney General to his office to question the former (vang
terdalrrrlu) in person.
Dan;: Did the president show up at the Attorney General's oftice?
Nir,in: Yes. he did. but according to the newspaper the president has not been named yet as a suspect
(tersarrgkn) in a corruption investwation.
Dang: Not a Suspect? Why not? The publ:c and societal leaders had alreadv vr`aed the r;overnment to
investigate the former pr; =Sldt IIC'S wealth.
\inin: f low ever r!•,c Attorney General stated that he would fbrm a team, which he himself will lead
and the police will h.:lp him in the investi c "tion. I think this team is very important not only in
the investigation of the president's wealth but also that of his children. As we all know the
former president's grown-up children did enjoy government facilities because of their father's
position as the number one man in the country for 32 years... They grabbed (menggarap) all the
business opportunities.
lJang: Vlreil in order to be impartial (adil; jujur; lurus; tidakberat sebtiah; tidak mer,rihak; fair;
unbiase;l), the Attorney General should seek (mencari; mendapatkan) the help of Iraernational Legal
Institutions to solve this problem.
Ninin: That is an excellent (baik sekali) idea. We will just wait and see what happens

THIRD MEETING:

Chapter Four
LEGAL EDUCATION IN INDONESIA

I. INTRODUCTION. Before attempting to discuss the problems confronting legal education in Indonesia, it
seems to be in order to give a brief outline of the law schools in Indonesia, their organization and the
basic aims of legal education.
II. Legal education in Indonesia is mainly given in law schools called `Fakultas Hukum' (Faculty of
Law) which forms part of a university. Of the twenty-three government universities in Indonesia, twenty-
one have law schools; seven are located in Java; two are located in Kalimantan; two university law
schools are locat
in Sulawesi, and others are in Denpasar, Bali, Mataram, Lombo Ambon, Maluku and Jayapura, West
Irian.
III. Besides government university law schools, there many private institutions or universities
providing legal educ tion at the university level. Some of these private institutio maintain good standards
and have accordingly been given equ status with government law schools. Such schools are found North
Sumatra, Jakarta, Bandung, Salatiga, etc.
IV. Law schools within a university are autonomous-that they have their own faculty, decide their own
educational poli have their own administrative apparatus and their own budg There is some degree of
centralization with regard to stud enrollment and registration. Inter-faculty coordination of poli is
achieved through the university senate and the council of f ulty deans. The chancellor of the university is
concurrently chairman of the senate of university professors.
V. THE AIMS OF LEGAL EDUCATION AND THEIR REALIZATI The problems confronting legal education
in Indonesia are m and two of them stand out when one considers legal education Indonesia, problems
which may or may not be commonly faced by newly independent, developing countries. One is the
problem of relating legal education to the needs of a newly independent developing country. Another,
equally pressing problem is the one of maintaining standards in the face ofthe increasing demand for legal
education.
VI. It is obvious that a newly independent, developing society requires more of its lawyers than a
colonial society. One principal difference lies in the fact that lawyers in a colonial society, unless they
belonged to the colonizing group, the expatriates, did not participate in the policy decision making
process. Policy decisions, including decisions of legislative policy, are made elsewhere. All that these
lawyers were expected to do was to assist in the maintenance of the established order. Lawyers in a
colonial society tl1us belonged to a relatively elite group, were often trained abroad, ;md generally
identified with the colonial power.
VII. In an independent society, the lawyer is likely to be a more vrt ive participant in the policy-
decision making process. Policy I(-cisions, whether they be in domestic or foreign policy or in the
4

Icp,islative field, are no longer made for him in a distant capital, but v ight here by himself and his fellow
citizens.
 V111. In a newly independent country where the concentration ~d power and resources in the
government gives it an obviously ~Iwn inant role in matters of development, law becomes an imporwn
ingredient in its orderly process or a `tool of social engineerlng
I X. It is obvious, however, that the use of law as a tool of social rnt,,vcering requires much more than
mere knowledge of the In %v in the traditional sense. The lawyer in a developing country qrvd.ti to
understand the interaction, between law and other fac Iw % hfdevelopment, mainly social and economic,
making use of 1!w Irgal system as a whole and of particular social norms and WlaaliUicms.
X Sometimes law and lawyers fail in developing societies beiiiii-,r thc traditionally trained lawyers are not
well prepared for heavy task confronting them. Therefore, there is a growing -ontent with law and
lawyers. Problems are already difficult eveloping countries with a single legal system. These problems
even more difficult in countries with a pluralistic legal system h as Indonesia has.
KII. For us in Indonesia, where an independent system of law as side by side with Western type of legal
institutions, an el-.ntary knowledge of anthropology, especially of kinship syss and the theory of
acculturation, is absolutely essential.
KIII. In Indonesia the five-year law school course consists of ;e main stages namely: (1) the preparatory
stage (Tingkat siapan), (2) the junior scholar stage (Tingkat Sarjana Muda), (3) the legal scholar stage
(Tingkat Sarjana Hukum). In the )aratory stage, only one law subject is taught, namely, the Inluction to
Law (consisting of an introduction to the Theory of v and the Indonesian Legal System). The other
subjects are: iomics, sociology, anthropology (cultural), political science and mology. The Junior Scholar
Stage takes two years, and the al Scholar Stage takes another two years.
densed from

roblems of legal Education in Indonesia: Challenge and Response y Prof Dr. Mochtar Kusumaatmadja (with
alteration)
engantar Hukum dan Tata Hukum Indonesia, Drs. C.S.T. Kansil, .H.
encana Pembangunan Lima Tahun Keempat, Chapter 27 rogram Pendidikan Fakultas Hukum, Universitas
Indonesia

FOURTH MEETING:

C O M M U N I C A T I O : V F O C U S IL- The Attorney General and the President of the New Order
Read the follow'ina dialog thoroughly; observe the use of the basic tenses already discussed in this
chaptPr and try to tell the class the important points. Use short sentences to do this cornunicative ex -
ercise; however, grarnmav should be correct.
Dan-: Hi, Ninin, I'm Qlau'to see you here... You promised to continue our discussion on the Era of
Reformation, didn't you? Ninin: Yes I did, but what exactvy do you want :o know about this chaotic
situation? There are so many t! -,ings happening now... What shall I tell you'?
Dan-: Well, since we are in the field of law, [ think I'm most interested ; n this era from its legal
context.
Ninin: Don't you read the newspaper?.... After 32 years of supressive and authoritarian rule, we are now
in total crisis... And worse still, there are still people out there who are trying to benefit
(memanfaatkan) from our miserable condition... Some business people are hoarding (menumpuk) the
basic commodities to be sold when prices ofthose things are extremely high. Such people are, indeed,
immoral. Dang: That's the point, you see, I did not read the newspaper; I
 just Qot back here last night from a trip abroad... Will you please tell me the legal aspects of
events.
Ninin: Well, this is what I just read in the newspaper... Early September this year the former president
Suharto rnade a televised statement that he did not possess a single cent of saving abroad. But
Forbes magazine in the United States and other sources such as the Internet, estimated in July
this year that the president's fortune was worth US4 billion.
Dang: My, that's a big sum of money...

Ninin: That's his personal wealth (kekayaan) allegedly amassed (ditnmprrk) illegally over his 32 years
in power... According to students extremist group, that is his wealth which he looted
(menjarah) from ahe poor people of Indonesia. . LatP in September, the president was
summoned (dipanggin by the Attorney General to his office to question the former (vang
terdalrrrlu) in person.
Dan;: Did the president show up at the Attorney General's oftice?
Nir,in: Yes. he did. but according to the newspaper the president has not been named yet as a suspect
(tersarrgkn) in a corruption investwation.
Dang: Not a Suspect? Why not? The publ:c and societal leaders had alreadv vr`aed the r;overnment to
investigate the former pr; =Sldt IIC'S wealth.
\inin: f low ever r!•,c Attorney General stated that he would fbrm a team, which he himself will lead
and the police will h.:lp him in the investi c "tion. I think this team is very important not only in
the investigation of the president's wealth but also that of his children. As we all know the
former president's grown-up children did enjoy government facilities because of their father's
position as the number one man in the country for 32 years... They grabbed (menggarap) all the
business opportunities.
lJang: Vlreil in order to be impartial (adil; jujur; lurus; tidakberat sebtiah; tidak mer,rihak; fair;
unbiase;l), the Attorney General should seek (mencari; mendapatkan) the help of Iraernational Legal
Institutions to solve this problem.
Ninin: That is an excellent (baik sekali) idea. We will just wait and see what happens

FIFTH MEETING :

COMMUNICATION FOCUS III: The Era of Reformation (a continuation)

The following text contains a momentous (amat penting) historical event which marked the end
of former president Suharto's power of 32 years. Read the passage thoroughly, observe the use of
the basic tenses and do the exercise that follows.

The Suharto Era ended up in a tragedy. After thirty-two years of holding power as the
second president of Indonesia, Suharto has to step down from his presidency in disgrace
(keadaan memalukan). Why in disgrace? Because he has failed the Indonesian people. Due to the
government policies ofthis time of achieving growth objectives, large firms had greatly been
assisted financially. This resulted in the growing number of business moguls (pengusaha kaya)
who built their business empires throughout the country and most of whom were non-indigenous
(non-pribumi) since these are the people who, it is assumed (diduga), are talented iii.
entrepreneurship. These indigenous business tycoons are Suharto's and some of his Cabinet
Ministers' cronies (konco). Together they created wealth and prosperity only for themselves and
a very small part of the total population. Together they left a deep-seated eny (kecemburuan) and
anger (amarah) in the hearts of the people so that at the beginning of Suharto’s seventh term in
power, university students led (mengadakan) a mass protest against Suharto and his cabinet
members. The students charged (menuduh) them as practicing corruption, and nepotism both in
the business sector and the government (KKN-korupsi, kolusi dan nepotisme) resulting in the
wide gap between the rich (orang kaya) and the poor (orang miskin).

Such was the economic turmoil (kekacauan) in the nation that students marched in protest
against the president and his cabinet members, most of whom were his cronies according to one
report. Protest movements were initiated by university students in major campuses in
Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Ujung Pandang, Medan and Bandung. Students were yelling slogans and
waving bannners: "Down with corruption, collusion and nepotism". These protest movements
had been a peaceful demonstration at the beginning until a fatal accident occurred (terjadi). Five
students were shot dead by the police at the privatr Trisakti University on May 12 th, 1998.
These five; students were declared as martyrs by the mass media in the city of Jakarta. The death
of these students became the spark (percikan api) that ignited (menyulut) widespread frustration
into nation-wide anger. This event gave a new sense of purpose and leadership among the
protesting students. However, it also gave some of the less privileged people (not students) a
cause to carry out rioting, burning stores and malls and looting (penjarahan). On May 14, more
than 5000 stores and malls were burnt down and looted (darah); more than 1.000 cars set on fire
and about 1000 people killed in the blazing stores and malls in the capital city of Jakarta alone.

After Suharto's 32-year rule, as of May 1998, the Indonesian economy was chaotic. Prices
were soaring from 80-85%; prices of some imported goods had risen to more than 100%. fifty
million people out of the 204 million population of the county were below the poverty line.
Unemployment were widespread, about 14% of the total worforce of 90 million. The nation's
foreign reserve (cadangan devisa negara) plunged (jatuh; menurun) to US$.-3 billon which was
US$ 14-16 prior to December, 1997. The price of one US dollar rose from Rp. 2.400 before 1997
to Rp. 1.700 in May. 1998. Bad-loans (kredit macet) of the private entrepreneurs (pengusaha),
mostly of non-indigenous ethnic group, amounted (berjumlah) to more than 80 billion U.S.
dollars.

As such was the economic backdrop of Indonesia, Suharto had to step down from the
presidency. On May 21, 1995, Suharto announced that "I quit as president" (Saya berhenti dari
jabatan presiden). Suharto named Vice president B.J. Habibie to be the next president of
Indonesia. At his inaugural speech Hahibie stated that he would bring economic as well as
political reforms. He would try to lessen the suffering of the poor people mostly hit by the
economic turbulence.