Policy Recommendations for Strengthening Sustainable Legal Aid (ID0150)

Aiming to strengthen and sustainability of legal aid in Indonesia through recommendations for alternative funding schemes, strengthening the capacity and quality of paralegal services, and encouraging the expansion of beneficiary coverage in an inclusive and sustainable manner.

Who is affected? Where does this occur? How are they affected? Where is the most affected area? When did this problem start? How long has this problem been affecting those affected?

Article 16 of Law Number 16 of 2011 on Legal Aid stipulates that the legal aid budget is sourced from the state budget. However, relying solely on the state budget creates the potential for significant reductions in funding, while demand in the field continues to grow. This situation means that the existing budget is unable to accommodate all legal aid needs, resulting in many affected communities unable to access comprehensive services.

In addition, Article 5 paragraph (1) of the Legal Aid Law stipulates that the beneficiary of legal aid is the poor who cannot fulfill their basic rights properly and independently. However, legal aid policy needs to adapt to social dynamics by expanding the beneficiary group beyond this category.

Thus, the Legal Aid Law as the basis for the implementation of legal aid needs to be improved to better suits current conditions. The draft Legal Aid Law, which is currently being discussed and has been included in the National Legislation Program, is an important momentum to encourage regulatory improvements so that the legal aid system can be more inclusive, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of the community.

On the other hand, the establishment and training of community paralegals is a strategic step in expanding the reach of legal aid. However, its implementation needs to be monitored and evaluated so that the perspectives and capacities of paralegals are sensitive to diversities of social and cultural backgrounds and power relations, especially in cases related to women and vulnerable groups. This effort is important to ensure the fair fulfillment of victims' rights.

All of these challenges—ranging from limited funding, limited beneficiary coverage, and inadequate paralegal capacity—indicate the weak foundation of sustainable legal aid in Indonesia, in terms of financing, service quality, and adaptation to social dynamics.

Explain your understanding of the causes of the problem. As much as possible, identify the root causes. Use problem analysis tools (e.g., problem tree, five whys, fishbone diagram, or other relevant methods) if necessary and include evidence where possible.

Causes of the Problem

The problem of poor sustainability of legal aid services is caused by at least three factors. First, financial sustainability is not yet guaranteed. Existing funding is limited and inflexible, characterized by low legal aid budgets from the state budget and inadequate funding to meet all of the community's litigation and non-litigation needs.

Second, institutional and technical sustainability in the provision of quality paralegal services. The training programs that have been implemented have not been thoroughly evaluated, while the allocation of funds for human resource capacity building is still limited. To date, support for the implementation of paralegal training for OBH is still minimal, even though this training is an indicator in the verification of legal aid, and the certificate is often requested by law enforcement officials.

Third, social and technical sustainability in reaching vulnerable groups. Although there have been efforts to expand the coverage of legal aid beneficiaries, there are no regulations or technical mechanisms in place to guarantee the recognition and protection of vulnerable groups as beneficiaries. Without a clear framework, legal aid services are at risk of being socially exclusive and unsustainable.

The above issues indicate that the sustainability of legal aid requires improvements in funding, resource capacity, and guaranteed expansion of service coverage so that access to justice can be fulfilled in an inclusive and sustainable manner.

ProposedSolutions

What will you do to solve this problem? How will these
solutions solve the problem? Also, what solutions have been available for this problem in previous years? How successful were these solutions?

Proposed solutions to strengthen the sustainability of legal aid includes developing alternative funding schemes, involving civil society in policy formulation, and strengthening paralegals through evaluative studies.
1.The study related to the legal aid trust fund aims to formulate a more flexible and inclusive financing mechanism that is not entirely dependent on the state budget, thus ensuring the continuity of legal services amid limited state funds.
2.The preparation of a policy paper and an inventory of issues for the draft Legal Aid Law was carried out in a participatory manner, referring to the results of previous demand assessment. The existing regulations still limit the beneficiaries to poor people with a statement of poverty, while in reality other vulnerable groups also need access to legal aid. This contradicts the principle of equality in the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which affirms the right of all persons to legal protection without discrimination. Therefore, in addition to expanding the scope, it is necessary to formulate a definition and gradation of vulnerable groups that are clearly included as beneficiaries, as well as a fair, transparent, and accountable identification mechanism to ensure that legal aid is provided to those who are in need.
3.Strengthening the capacity and quality of paralegal services is designed through evaluative studies. Previous experiences in strengthening paralegals will serve as a reference in formulating study designs to identify best practices, implementation obstacles, and opportunities for training improvement. The results of this evaluation will provide an overview of strategic steps to strengthen the quality of paralegals, especially in handling cases involving vulnerable groups.

Relevance to the 5 Strategic Issues of OGI

Are the proposed solutions related to one of the priority issues of Open Government Indonesia (1) Anti-Corruption and Budget Transparency 2) Civic Space and Democracy 3) Inclusive Public Services 4) Access to Justice 5) Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources

The solution proposed in this commitment is directly related to the strategic issue of Access to Justice. The development of alternative funding mechanisms, expansion of beneficiary coverage, and strengthening of paralegal capacity and service quality are aimed at providing responsive, inclusive, and sustainable access to justice services in the legal sector for vulnerable groups. In addition, the participatory policy-making process helps strengthen civic engagement and democracy as important elements of open and equitable governance.

Relevance to the Government's Priority Agenda

Can the proposed solution be aligned with the government's work plan as outlined in the Asta Cita (Work Program) document?

The proposed solution is in line with the Asta Cita agenda, particularly in terms of human rights enforcement and legal reform. Strengthening legal aid contributes to the protection of the rights of the poor and vulnerable in an inclusive and gender-sensitive manner. The study of alternative funding, expansion of beneficiary coverage, and strengthening of paralegal programs support fair, transparent, and nondiscriminatory law enforcement. This commitment strengthens access to justice while promoting bureaucratic reform based on public services that are responsive to the needs of the most affected groups.

Expected Outcomes

The implementation of this commitment is expected to produce three main outputs, namely a study of legal aid trust funds as an alternative source of funding, an evaluation study of paralegal programs, and the preparation of a thematic policy paper and an inventory of issues (DIM) as input for a more inclusive Legal Aid Bill. The scale of change includes the institutional level through strengthening the design and implementation of capacity and quality of paralegal services in a more systematic and sustainable manner,
as well as the national level through utilizing the results of studies to support the legislative process and formulation of legal aid policies that are adaptive to the needs of vulnerable communities. The targeted impacts include improving the quality of paralegal strengthening programs and evidence-based policy strengthening and public participation. All of these efforts are aimed at creating a more transparent, inclusive, and sustainable legal aid system that can be evaluated in a measurable manner through policy
achievement indicators, alternative funding mechanisms, and the quality of legal aid services.

Results Indicators | Output | Timeline | Stakeholders

Civil society involvement in drafting the Legal Aid Bill, including provisions related to the legal aid trust fund and expansion of beneficiaries. | 1. Academic Paper for the Preparation of Legal Aid Bill, which includes the results of the CSO's study, including provisions related to the legal aid trust fund. | Estimated final output for year 1 (M-12) 2.Document on the results of the study on the legal aid trust fund in Indonesia Report on the implementation of advocacy activities involving the Ministry of
Finance, Bappenas, and relevant stakeholders | Estimated final output for year 2 (M-24)

The availability of recommendations for strengthening programs related to
paralegals | 1.Evaluation design document for the paralegal program. 2.Report on the dissemination of information about the Village/Subdistrict Legal
Aid Statute to paralegals. | Estimated final output for year 1 (M-12)
1.Recommendation document for strengthening the paralegal program. 2.Report on the results of the Posbankum service assessment in the form of the Village/Subdistrict Legal Aid Post Service Quality Index Score for the purpose of evaluating the Paralegal program. | Estimated final output for year 2 (M-24)