Reforming the Education of Islamic Judges in Indonesia

The Religious Courts of Indonesia, the country's Islamic courts, have been criticised for their inability to deliver justice to vulnerable groups, such as women and children. One of the causes of this is major shortcomings in the pre-and post-appointment education of the judges who preside in these courts. However, judicial education in Indonesia is an understudied area. This study seeks to respond to this by investigating the challenges faced by the current education system for Religious Court judges in Indonesia, identifying its weaknesses and the factors causing them, and proposing reforms. The research was conducted in three institutions that provide tertiary-level Islamic legal education, the Faculties of Shari'a and Law of the Jakarta State Islamic University, the Aceh State Islamic University, and the Mataram State Islamic University, in Lombok. The research was also conducted in the Supreme Court's Centre for Judicial Training and Religious Court Agency. Data were obtained from documents and regulations, and interviews with Religious Court judges, faculty members, lecturers, and trainers. This thesis argues that the systems of education for Indonesian Religious Court judges offered by both universities and the Supreme Court are insufficient to ensure they have the necessary judicial competencies. This is the result of multiple causes, including poor teacher selection, curriculum content, teaching and learning methods, and a lack of resources, all stemming from the past neglect of these courts by the state. This thesis finds that the main weakness of the legal education provided by the shari'a and Law Faculties is an inability to balance a doctrinal and theoretical approach with a more practical and professionally-oriented approach. The judicial training provided by the Supreme Court-affiliated institutions attempts to respond to the gaps left by the legal education system by offering more practically-oriented education. This has been made possible by the post-Soeharto Reformasi (Reformation) movement that delivered broader judicial reform. Nevertheless, the current educational system still needs much improvement. The organisers of training and education for Religious Court judges need to consider areas beyond the procedural aspects of judicial work, particularly issues relating to social equity, such as gender equality.