ABSTRACT

Administrative review has operated in Indonesia for just over 15 years. The Administrative Courts were seen as offering a vehicle for challenges to state authority in the latter years of the Soeharto regime. However, the promise of a significant contribution to accountability was not sustained. The Court has steadily declined in prominence, and has not found a voice in post-reform Indonesia. In many respects the jurisdiction is largely invisible, and is notable for its comparatively light caseload, poor enforcement powers, and an apparent inability to generate significant jurisprudence. A new draft law seeks to re-vitalize administrative review procedures in the pursuit of civil service reform, President Yudhoyono’s anti-corruption agenda, and the establishment of principles of good administrative governance as the foundation for executive action. While the draft Law on Government Administration sets out new standards for administrative decision-making, it does not alter the framework for review mechanisms in any fundamental way.