ITC AND ICT LAWS IN THE CURRICULUM DESIGN OF BINUS-BUSINESS LAW DEPARTMENT

By SHIDARTA (June 2022)

Adelle Blackett (1998: 58-59) once talked about the link between globalization and legal education reform. She says:

It is hard to escape talk of globalization. Globalization is, by definition, everywhere. It is big. All else pales in comparison, and, according to the prevailing view, it is ineluctable. Whether globalization is as encompassing and inevitable as imagined may be less important than that perception, and its ability to affect policy and action. This is evident in the fated meeting of globalization talk and legal education reform. Law—in particular legal education—is described as lagging far behind on the “global playing fleld.” Some call on legal policy-makers to facilitate globalization by removing regulatory barriers to trade and harmonizing institutional frameworks, such as foreign direct investment policies. Others call on legislators to intervene and instill order in a system perceived to be out of control, by regulating anew at an International level. All call on lawyers to get up to speed. The question is tellingly put: How can legal education be reformed to meet the new global economy?

Yes, how should higher legal education be transformed to welcome the new global economy? Questions like these are what prompted us as activists of legal higher education at BINUS University when it came to designing the curriculum of higher legal education . This question is becoming more relevant to the Indonesian context. This is because legal education is one of the oldest education systems (besides medicine) introduced in this country. Therefore, many traditions have been incorporated and followed by higher education institutions in laws, both those managed by the government and the private sector. This tradition is performed by grouping the areas of higher legal education conventionally so that legal education is focused on the fields of constitutional law, private law, criminal law, and international law.

Business law is another area that breaks through all those conventional barriers. Business law has aspects of constitutional law, or more specifically, is state administrative law. Business law also has dimensions that are closely related to the area of private law. Crimes in business law, commonly called white-collar crimes, are obviously clearly related to criminal law. Almost all business activities are currently also cross-border because they no longer intersect with a distinct jurisdiction of one country. It places on a global scale. Not to mention when we talk about communication and information technology that has accelerated all developments in business law. Disruption of innovation that occurs and continues to grow in business activities inevitably has influenced the law.

On that basis, BINUS University’s Department of Business Law has taken a very firm position to define that business law deals with four key areas. First, business law deals with investment. The capital invested in the investment can be done directly or indirectly. In the era of globalization, the capital market will play an increasingly important role. Second, business law is closely linked to financing. Thus, business law education in the contemporary era must provide a deep understanding of the legal aspects of financing carried out by banking and non-banking institutions. Included in the discourse on this topic are activities carried out by Islamic economic institutions, considering that Indonesia is a country with the largest Moslem population in the world. Third, business law is related to the cyber arena. All business activities have been intervened by this cyber world. Cyber law is thus predicted to have a very considerable control in changing the face of the Indonesian legal system. Fourth, the law on intellectual property rights as a legal area that protects the interests of rights holders. In the era of globalization, the protection of intellectual property rights will be very prominent in legal arrangements.

The first two principal areas, namely investment law and finance law, are within a field of study that we call international trade and commercial law (ITC law). We distinguish the word “trade” from “commerce/commercial” by supposing that the term trade has a more public dimension than the term commerce. Numerous courses are available to teach students in the field of ITC law. Courses containing material on corporate law, investment law, capital market law, banking law, insurance law, tax law, and bankruptcy law fall under the ITC law field of study. By taking these materials of study, students are called upon to understand how business activities in the eyes of public law and private international law that have been chosen are most relevant to study in a fairly tight period of time.

The succeeding two key areas, namely cyber law and intellectual property rights law fall under a field of study called information and communication technology law (ICT Law). Students will learn a lot about cyber law, such as data protection and crime committed using advanced telematics technology. Digital Commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, is a widespread phenomenon, including in the context of Indonesia, which is ranked as the country with the largest population of social media users in the world. Presumably, issues regarding infringement of intellectual property rights are also issues that have to be recognised by students. Various courses have been prepared to become the students’ subjects of interest.

Thus, two key areas called ITC and ICT laws are essentially not completely separated and can be clearly distinguished. They distinguish according to the stakes that emerge from the two arenas. The two actually complement each other because the “science” of law (legal dogmatics) is closely connected with the legal system. Students cannot study only one area of law by leaving another because they are all in the same legal system; not only the legal system at the national level, but also at the regional and global levels as well.

In order for students to master all of the material as a unified whole, their “analytical knife” must be prepared. Students must therefore have a very solid legal basis. The first two semesters since students first study in the Business Law Department of BINUS University, these basics are the primary concern for students. Subsequently, students are trained on the foundations of business law called “the fundamentals of business law. All the materials are the continuation of the previously acquired legal basis. These foundations are the entry points for students who want to delve into the two key areas mentioned above, namely ITC and ICT laws.

Thus, it can be said that ITC and ICT Laws are two connected legal arenas of study that are selectively used to characterize the curriculum design of BINUS University’s Department of Business Law offered to students in the graduate study program in law. This choice was made through careful consideration in order to prepare undergraduates to be able to compete in the global world in understanding and resolving legal issues in general, and business law in particular. (***)

Reference:

Blackett, Adelle (1998). “Globalization and Its Ambiguities: Implications for Law School Curricular Reform.” Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. Vol. 35 No. 57: 58-79.