By Ratna Juwita, PhD Candidate, University of Groningen, r.juwita@rug.nl

GCHL-member Ratna Juwita was recently interviewed by the Illicit Trade Research Group (ITG) concerning her involvement with ITG. ITG is one of the University of Groningen’s research groups under the theme of Development, Security, and Justice, which is one of the research themes of the Rudolf Agricola School of Sustainable Development. Within this School, researchers and educators from up to 250 disciplines join forces to advance interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and education.

In my interview as a member of ITG, I introduced myself and my research interests: international law, anti-corruption and human rights. I explained that the driving force behind my research is the rampant, structural, and pervasive corruption in Indonesia. Recently, it has been reported that Johnny G. Plate, former Minister of Communication and Information Technology for Indonesia, has been identified as a suspect in a corruption case.[1] The state fund’s estimated loss amounted to 8 trillion rupiah (equivalent to 534.756.000.000.000 USD).[2] The Attorney General Office (AGO) suspects that Plate abused his authority in the construction of base transreceiver stations for a government 4G connectivity project.[3] This news confirms that corruption remains a serious challenge in Indonesia.

Corruption has devastating impacts on the realization of human rights. As of yet, the human rights framework has not been incorporated into anti-corruption strategies. This reality is the basis of my research. Existing anti-corruption strategies criminalise corrupt conduct, but do not consider corruption as a violation of human rights. Criminal law regulates corruption as a conduct offence: in order to criminalize an individual for corruption, law enforcement must prove that the element of conduct was met. However, various types of corruption have the potential to qualify as a violation of human rights, such as grand corruption. Grand corruption refers to corruption by high-level public officials that causes large amounts of loss of state funds.[4] Grand corruption has been the basis of my research to construct the concept of corruption as a violation of human rights and an activist movement to promote this concept.

My research aims to answer the question of whether it would be possible and beneficial for Indonesia to address corruption as a violation of human rights in its attempts to combat corruption, with a particular focus on corruption in the health and education sectors. For the purposes of my research, I collected the judgments on health and education sectors corruption from the list of cases provided by the Corruption Eradication Commission annual reports from 2004-2018.[5]From those judgments, I identified three types of corruption in health and education sectors: (1) grand corruption in the procurement process; (2) obstruction of the justice process by cooperation between corruptors and law enforcement agencies; and (3) corruption related to decentralisation. These types of corruption directly impact the realization of the right to health. This is because it steals public funds that should have been used to, among other things, procure medical goods and services. Everyone has the right to health of which the availability and accessibility of medical goods and services form an integral part.[6] Vulnerable persons need these goods and services even more. Therefore, the link between corruption and the right to health is obvious. Additionally, it is important to address the questions of how corruption can be conceptualised as a violation of human rights and how the transformation of this emerging norm to a legal norm can be advanced. In my research, I utilise doctrinal and interdisciplinary research methods to answer these questions. For the conceptualisation of corruption as a violation of human rights, I focus on examining Articles 4, 12, and 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to establish the causal relation between corrupt conduct and loss of the state funds. In this regard, I argue that the state funds “belong” to the victims as rightholders and that this funds are inherently essential parts of the realisation of victims' right to health. For the transformation of the emerging norm into a legal norm, I employ the concept of international norm dynamics and interactional legal theory. This is to explain the possibility of such transformation.

At the end of the interview, I explained the connection of my research with ITG. Corruption is complex, takes many forms, and spreads like cancer in society. In my research, I gain insights from scholars in the field of International Relations about the transformation of norms. I learn what the phases of the transformation are and how to assess them. Likewise, international relations scholars can also learn about the law, inter alia, why the transition from an emerging norm to a legal norm is crucial. In comparison with other norms, what makes legal norms special? The notion of corruption as a violation of human rights can be advanced by answering such questions. For my research, I need to look beyond the field of human rights law to formulate precise solutions. Sharing and learning from other researchers in various fields is necessary. I believe that analysing corruption from various angles can enhance my understanding about anti-corruption and human rights. The interaction and collaboration between scholars can serve as a catalyst for knowledge, invention, and discovery.

[1] Jakarta Post, ‘BREAKING: AGO names NasDem minister Johnny Plate suspect in BTS graft case’ (17 May 2023, Jakarta Post),https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2023/05/17/breaking-ago-names-nasdem-minister-johnny-plate-suspect-in-bts-graft-case.html accessed 25 May 2023..

[2] Coconuts, ‘IT Minister Johnny G. Plate Arrested in IDR 8 Trillion BTS Graft Scandal’ (17 May 2023, Coconuts Jakarta),https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/it-minister-johnny-g-plate-arrested-in-idr8-trillion-bts-graft-scandal/ accessed 25 May 2023.

[3] Tempo.Co, ‘Kominfo Minister Johnny G. Plate Named Suspect in Corruption Case’ (17 May 2023, Tempo.Co), https://en.tempo.co/read/1726790/kominfo-minister-johnny-g-plate-named-suspect-in-corruption-case accessed 25 May 2023.

[4] Martine Boersma, Corruption: A Violation of Human Rights and a Crime Under International Law (Intersentia, 2012) 29.

[5] KPK, KPK Annual Reports 2004-2018, https://perpustakaan.kpk.go.id/index.php?h=cari&kata=Laporan%20Tahunan%20KPK’, accessed 25 May 2023.

[6] The right to health in Indonesia is protected by Article 28(H)(1) of the Indonesian Constitution 1945, https://jdih.bapeten.go.id/unggah/dokumen/peraturan/116-full.pdf, accessed 12 June 2023.