ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the philosophical foundation for Indonesian courts to consider human rights. The chapter argues that human rights constitute a synthesis between overarching concepts of justice (which may be too vague and fail to provide legal certainty) and between ‘law as written in the books’ (which may be too limited and fail to deliver substantive justice). The chapter discusses how various schools of legal thought have related to the tension between justice and certainty. While drawing mainly on western philosophers, the chapter seeks to link these with Indonesian law and legal practice. The final part of the chapter contains a case analysis of three particularly ‘hard cases’ with strong human rights relevance.
