Legal Literacy - This article discusses rechtsidee or legal ideals in the context of law in Indonesia, particularly concerning Pancasila as a legal ideal that forms the legal foundation of the Indonesian nation.
This article also explains the concept of rechtsidee according to experts and how Pancasila as a legal ideal functions as a filter of international conventions and as a general principle in criticizing and underpinning legal behavior in Indonesia.
By: Shenny Mutiara Irni
The Constitution of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), the 1945 Constitution (UUD) explains that its preamble creates a main idea. The main idea referred to represents the atmosphere of the Constitution (UUD) itself. This main idea is none other than Pancasila. Thus, Pancasila contained in the constitution, for the Indonesian Nation is also used as a legal ideal (rechtsidee). The legal ideal of Pancasila is the legal ideal desired by the Indonesian people. This is because in essence, the law is based on the values held by its society.
Meanwhile, Pancasila itself contains values that originate from within Indonesian society. Values rooted in a nation will certainly encourage the effectiveness of law and its enforcement. Therefore, Pancasila is then made the law of all sources of law. Furthermore, Pancasila becomes the ruler over the positive laws that apply, both written and unwritten.
Pancasila as a legal ideal (rechtsidee) must or is obligated to underlie positive law in Indonesia, as well as serve as a filtering tool for international law. Not only that, the goal of the Indonesian nation's journey is certainly reflected through the legal ideal held by the country in question.
What Is Rechtsidee?
Term rechtsidee quoted from Dutch which means legal ideal. According to the opinion of A Hamid S Attamimi, rechtsidee it should indeed be translated as legal ideal, not legal aspiration. The two sentences certainly show a significant difference in meaning. So, in conclusion, a legal ideal can be interpreted as an idea, thought, creation, or mind. The meaning of this legal ideal implies that the essence of law actually originates from the thoughts, ideas, or feelings of its society.
Referring to the opinion of another expert, namely Gustaf Radbruch, he argued that the legal ideal is a basic form of law that is constitutive. This means that if the legal ideal does not exist, then a law will lose its meaning as law. Therefore, the legal ideal becomes a regulatory benchmark.
This means that the legal ideal functions as a test of whether a country's positive law is just or not. Meanwhile, Radbruch then conceptualized rechtsidee with the value of justice in the context of law. He tried to associate this concept with value-oriented legal theory, where the ideal value used by Radbruch was the value of justice.
As a simplification of Radbruch's intention, a legal expert from Tilburg University, Netherlands, namely Hans Gribnau, tried to elaborate on Radbruch's concept of legal values in the legal ideal. This means that the starting point is the idea that a law aims to create justice, or the ideal law itself.
Then, Radbruch's other opinion is correct, where he said that the concept of law depends on the legal ideal (rechtsidee) of the country itself. There is also another opinion in line from Meuwissen, who conceptualizes the legal ideal as a legal reality. The meaning of this statement is that the legal ideal is formed from the thoughts of the community which aims to achieve happiness, order, and justice.
Then, What Is Rechtsidee Pancasila?
If we talk about the legal ideal of Pancasila, in micro terms it can be defined as a law that summarizes various values and concepts that have electively taken the best elements from the legal awareness of the Indonesian people. Meanwhile, in macro terms, the legal ideal of Pancasila can be said to be a filter for international conventions. Pancasila is also used as a general principle in criticizing and underlying all legal behavior in Indonesia.
*This article represents the opinions author's personal views and does not represent the views of the editors Legal Literacy Indonesia.
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