Indonesia

USAID sponsored a three-year in-country project, via ELIPS, the University of San Francisco (USF) and Rural Development Institute (RDI), conducted in conjunction with Boston University School of Law.  

Decentralization remained a critical goal in stabilizing the country, the world’s fourth largest with the largest Muslim population, characterized by more than 500 distinct languages and cultures spread out over 14,000 islands. The project aimed to produce economic reform, particularly integrating the country into the world economy through trade. Rural poverty remained high, so one phase of the project focused on land reform initiatives (the first in forty years) and agricultural investment legislation. The Indonesian project revealed the full potential of institutionalizing ICLAD’s legislative problem-solving methodology. 

The Government’s Cabinet Secretary and the head of the Legislative Program at the University of Indonesia extended the project invitation and ultimately became involved in developing three phases in an ongoing legislative drafting and law-making strengthening program:

Phase 1: Economic reform and building national drafting capacity (sponsor: ELIPS)
Phase 2: Local governance strengthening and decentralization (sponsor: University of San Francisco) 
Phase 3: Land reform (sponsor: Rural Development Institute) 

Participants included 250-300 from all sectors including universities, NGOs, and government (although few senior level officials). As part of the project, a national workshop, two national legislators’ workshops, and numerous local-level two-week workshops were facilitated by twenty Indonesians (ministry officials and university faculty members) who had completed the four-month Residence Program.

Outcomes:

Phase 1: Participants established eight regional Centers, led regional courses for drafters, developed training materials, and began courses at local universities. After foreign funding ended, local university faculty members continued to work with local governments in cooperation with regional centers.

Phase 2: National legislative drafters, legislators, and NGO personnel received training to work on national legislation, national government drafting, and assessing legislation to strengthen democratic government. After foreign funding ended, national university, Ministry of Justice staff, and members of the parliamentary staff cooperated in efforts to continue training, course development, parliamentary training, NGO training, and Center development. 

Phase 3: Land reform legislation passed, and legislation continues to be drafted and revised, as do research and training within the Ministry of Land and NGOs. 

Additional Outcomes: 

A Residence Program participant developed a training program for Parliament and staff.

ELIPS prepared a distance audio-visual course in Bahasa Indonesia to equip legislators with legislative problem-solving theory and methodology to assess bills that come before them. 

Civil society participation occurred at all training sessions. Three university lecturers, trained in the Residence Program and assisted by an NGO workshop participant as facilitator, have led more than a dozen one-week workshops around the country specifically for NGOs. They drafted materials for civil society training in preparation for five more workshops the following year. 

University faculty members report using legislative problem-solving theory and methodology and the Manual in their law classes and drafting classes.

Two Residence Program participants helped to establish the University of Indonesia Drafting Program, including drafting courses for students. These two participants aimed to institutionalize a country-wide drafting program to foster cooperation of all the national and local projects to strengthen drafting capacity and law-making institutions. With their colleagues, they worked to provide appropriate educational materials drawing on Indonesian experience and circumstances.

The regional centers continue to assist in drafting legislation at the local level for Indonesia’s more than 300 regional governments. After foreign funding ended, some began to charge fees for their services. 

Project participants proposed a Center of Excellence at the University of Indonesia aimed to 
• coordinate and develop institutionalization of programs on legislative drafting and training of legislators on the national and local level 
• work on research and publishing articles regarding drafting and assessing legislation in Bahasa Indonesia 

The program translated the Manual into Bahasa Indonesia, developed Indonesia-based Manuals for drafters and legislators using Indonesian examples as a basis for ongoing teaching programs, and developed course materials utilizing Indonesian examples.

Although the new Law on Legislative Process Procedure for Legislative Drafting does not require research reports or civil society input to support draft bills, it aimed to restructure lawmaking institutions.

Bills drafted at the national level:
Bankruptcy
Company Registration
Domestic Trade
Foreign Loan/Debt Management
Freedom of Information
Investment
Land Acquisition by the Government
Land Distribution
Land Registration
Limited Company
Micro-finance
Migratory Workers
Money Laundering
Organization of Public Forests
Patronage on Indonesian Workers Abroad
Patronage on Protection of Refugee Assets
Philanthropic Foundation Regulation
Population Control and Information Systems
Procedures for Legislation Drafting
Protections for Child Laborers
Public Accountant Oversight
Public Transportation Tariffs
Regulations for Land Deed-Titling Officials
School Building Maintenance
Small-Scale Industry
Special Education for Street Children
State of Emergency Declarations
Sub-contracts
Use of Unleaded Fuel in Jakarta
Warehouse Receipt Systems
Waste Disposal in Jakarta