Legal Theory as the Foundation of Certainty, Justice, and Utility in the Indonesian Judicial System
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58818/ijlrsa.v3i5.248Keywords:
Legal theory, Legal Certainty, Justice, Utility, Judicial SystemAbstract
Legal theory plays a fundamental role in shaping both the intellectual framework and the practice of law enforcement in Indonesia. As a normative system, law is not only required to provide certainty but also to ensure justice and deliver practical utility for society. Legal certainty functions as the basis for consistent enforcement of rules, justice represents the moral goal of law, and utility emphasizes the law’s practical value in addressing social needs. This article examines legal theory as the primary foundation of Indonesia’s judicial system, highlighting the debate among legal positivism, natural law theory, and progressive law in achieving a balance between these three fundamental values. The study employs a normative approach with conceptual analysis of various schools of legal thought and their implementation in judicial practice. Findings reveal that the Indonesian judicial system continues to face challenges in harmonizing certainty, justice, and utility particularly in the context of law enforcement oriented toward substantive justice. Thus, reinterpretation and revitalization of legal theory are needed to make it more adaptive to societal developments, while maintaining the supremacy of law as an instrument of social justice.
Downloads
References
Radbruch, G. (1950). Statutory Injustice and Supra-Statutory Law (Radbruch’s Formula). Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Kelsen, H. (1967). Pure Theory of Law. University of California Press; Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Hart, H. L. A. (1961). The Concept of Law. Oxford University Press.
Alexy, R. (2002). A Theory of Legal Argumentation: The Theory of Rational Discourse as Theory of Legal Justification. Oxford University Press; Oxford Academic.
Rahardjo, S. (2000). Progressive Law — An Introduction (selected edition and collected essays). ResearchGate.
Green, L. (2012). The Concept of Law: New Essays (editorial collection). Oxford University Press.
Vesting, T. (2021). Legal Theory: A Contemporary Guide. Textbook. Amazon.
Nainggolan, B. (2023). Legal Theory Textbook. Universitas Kristen Indonesia (UKI Repository, PDF).
Tan, S. H. (2021). “Radbruch’s Formula Revisited: Lex Injusta Non Est…” Canadian Journal of Law & Jurisprudence. Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Van Vollenhoven, C. (1931). Indonesian Customary Law Studies — a classic work relevant to the Indonesian legal context.
Coleman, J. (Ed.). (2019). A Grand Tour of Legal Theory (chapter surveys). Oxford University Press; Oxford Academic.
Rahardjo, S., & colleagues. (2020–2024). Collected articles and studies on Progressive Law and its implementation in Indonesia. UNES Law Review.
Alexy, R. (2019). “Radbruch’s Formula and the Nature of Legal Reasoning.” Journal Article. ResearchGate.
Gorsuch, N., & Nitze, J. (2024). Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law. Harper. Relevant to discussions of regulation & legal certainty. AP News.
Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia. (2019, rev. 2022). Supreme Court Regulation (PERMA) No. 1 of 2019 on Electronic Case Administration (e-Court Regulation). Judicial policy document. Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Hukumonline & Law Journals. (2020–2024). Analytical articles on judicial digitalization, legal certainty, and implementation of PERMA (various editions). Journal Portal.
Arifin, R. (2023). “A Discourse of Justice and Legal Certainty in Stolen Assets Recovery.” National law journal applying Radbruch in the Indonesian context. Griya Jurnal UIN.
Izzati, N. R. (2024). “Legal Certainty vs. Job Insecurity: An Analysis of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation.” National law journal. Journal Portal.
Bix; Ott & Rea-Frauchiger. (2020–2025). Scholarly articles on proportionality and balancing in judicial reasoning (comparative literature compilation). ResearchGate.
Research Institutions & NGO Reports. (2021–2024). Empirical studies on access to justice, legal aid, and ADR in Indonesia. ResearchGate.
Benchbooks & Judicial Manuals. (2020–2024). Methodologies of Rechtsvinding and Judicial Interpretation (collections of essays and judge manuals). Journal Portal.
Recent Academic Collections (2020–2025). Essays on Natural Law vs. Legal Positivism debates. Oxford Academic.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Somomoeljono Suhardi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright and License Statement
Authors who publish their manuscripts in this Journal agree to the following conditions:
The copyright for any article in The International Journal of Law Review and State Administration is fully held by the author under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license:
- The author acknowledges The International Journal of Law Review and State Administration (IJLRSA) has the right to publish for the first time with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License / CC BY 4.0.
- Authors can enter writings separately, arrange non-exclusive distribution of manuscripts that have been published in this journal into other versions (eg sent to the author's institutional repository, publication in a book, etc.), by acknowledging that the manuscript has been published for the first time in The International Journal of Law Review and State Administration (IJLRSA)
- The International Journal of Law Review and State Administration (IJLRSA) published under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License / CC BY 4.0. This license permits anyone to copy and redistribute this material in any form or format, compose, modify, and make derivative works of this material for any purpose, including commercial purposes, so long as they include credit to the Author of the original work.
