Pancasila as the navigation for legal development in Indonesia
It is hoped that Pancasila will not merely be positioned as the state foundation within constitutional documents, but will truly live within every policy, decision, and law enforcement practice.
‘Social justice is a society or a characteristic of a society that is just and prosperous, happy for all people, without insult, without oppression, without exploitation’ — Sukarno.
Long after that speech was delivered, Pancasila remains the most relevant starting point for reading the direction of legal development in Indonesia. Sukarno did not imagine law merely as a collection of articles and procedures, but as an instrument to realise social justice for all people.
Legal development should not be measured solely by the number of regulations produced or institutions formed, but by the extent to which the law can provide a sense of justice, protect human rights, and strengthen democratic life.
Amidst various achievements, reality shows that Indonesia’s legal development still faces significant challenges. Indonesia’s Legal Development Index (IPH) in 2023 did increase to 0.68 from a previous 0.66; however, at the same time, Indonesia’s Rule of Law Index score remains stagnant at 0.53, while the Corruption Perceptions Index sits at only 34, ranking Indonesia 115th out of 180 countries.
Furthermore, Indonesia’s Democracy Index experienced a decline from 80.41 to 79.51. These figures indicate that legal development has not yet been fully proportional to the strengthening of the rule of law, the eradication of corruption, and the quality of democracy.
In this regard, Pancasila needs to be positioned as the navigation for Indonesia’s legal development. Pancasila is not just a symbol commemorated every 1st of June, but a guide to ensure that the law remains on the right track. When the law moves away from human values, ignores social justice, or loses the spirit of democracy, then legal development has essentially lost its direction.
From a legal perspective, Pancasula serves not only as the state foundation but also as the ‘rechtsidee’ (legal idea) of the Indonesian nation. This concept was proposed by figures such as Rudolf Stammler and developed within the Indonesian context by thinkers such as A. Hamid S. Attamimi and Mahfud M.D.
As a legal idea, Pancasila serves as a normative orientation that provides direction for the formation, implementation, and enforcement of law. This means that every legal product must not only meet formal legality aspects but must also be aligned with the values of divinity, humanity, unity, democracy, and social justice contained within Pancasila.