Public Discussion on Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia with Justice Arsul Sani, Judge of the Indonesian Constitutional Court
At this public event, Justice Arsul Sani of the Indonesian Constitutional Court will speak about landmark cases related to constitutional democracy in Indonesia. There will also be an opportunity for questions and discussion. The event is supported by the Asia Law & Policy Forum, the Gilbert & Tobin Centre for Public Law, and the School of Global and Public Law.
Speaker: Justice Arsul Sani (Judge of the Indonesian Constitutional Court)
Chair: Mr Mohammad Ibrahim (UNSW) & Professor Melissa Crouch (UNSW)
Speaker Biography
Dr. H. Arsul Sani, S.H., M.Si., Pr.M.
Justice Arsul Sani acquired his bachelor of law degree at the University of Indonesia, graduating in early 1987. His legal career started humbly as a volunteer lawyer at the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Jakarta from 1986 to 1988. Arsul’s academic and professional journey includes a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Comparative Law from the University of Technology Sydney (1993-1994), Industrial Property Management at the Japan Institute of Invention in 1997, and multiple advanced degrees, including a Master's in Corporate Communication from the London School of Public Relations in 2007. He also completed Fellowship Arbitration Courses in the UK, becoming a member of several prominent arbitration and legal associations. He commenced his doctoral study at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), Scotland and completed it at Collegium Humanum, Warsaw - Poland.
Before his first election to the Indonesian Parliament (DPR RI) in 2014, Arsul was a corporate law practitioner, arbitrator, and executive in a multinational foreign investment company. He served on the Indonesian government’s legal team handling international arbitration cases during the presidencies of B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid. Throughout his career, he held leadership roles in various professional organizations, such as Head of Legal Consultation at Nahdlatul Ulama Legal Aid & Counselling Institute, Chairman of the Indonesian Corporate Counsel Association, and Vice Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Indonesian Advocates Association. His extensive involvement in the legal community has earned him several honors, including the Utama Dharma Defense Star in 2023.
During his tenure in the DPR RI (2014-2019, reelected in 2019-2023), Arsul received numerous accolades for his work, including awards from the DPR RI’s Honorary Council, Indonesian Christian Religious Institution, and the Indonesian Diaspora Networks. He is also a passionate writer, authoring three books on law, legal enforcement, and the relationship between Islam and the state. His doctoral dissertation, "National Security and Human Rights Protection: Dialectics of Counterterrorism in Indonesia," was later published in Indonesian by KOMPAS Book Publisher.