The Doctoral Program in Law at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (PDIH FH UGM), has once again produced a new legal scholar in the field of economic law. Mohammad Reza, S.H., M.H., officially obtained his doctoral degree after successfully defending his dissertation in an offline open examination. The doctoral examination was held on Wednesday, 24 July 2026, at the Auditorium of Building B, 1st Floor, Faculty of Law, UGM.
In the examination, he defended his dissertation entitled “The Position and Enforcement of Competition Law in the Indonesian Legal System as the Basis for the Reformulation of Competition Law Procedural Rules to Establish Legal Certainty.” This research was motivated by the position of competition law within the Indonesian legal system, which continues to raise conceptual debates. These debates concern whether competition law belongs to the branch of public or private law and the implications of such classification for the applicable procedural law. The main issues examined in the research include the legal characteristics of competition law, the level of legal certainty in case handling, and the urgency of reformulating competition law procedures.
The research findings indicate, first, that competition law in Indonesia belongs to the category of non-criminal public law with an administrative nature. Within this framework, the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) is positioned as an independent administrative body exercising quasi-judicial functions through investigative authority and administrative examination conducted on a non-pro justitia basis. The second finding shows that competition law cases are handled within an appropriate timeframe and demonstrate a high level of compliance, with 75% of the total fines imposed through KPPU decisions that have permanent legal force having been paid.
The third finding emphasizes that the position of competition law as part of administrative public law requires a comprehensive reformulation of competition law procedural mechanisms with a sui generis character. The reformulation is directed toward the implementation of a negative evidentiary system aimed at discovering substantive truth during proceedings. This approach is expected to strengthen the active role of KPPU in assessing evidence independently while maintaining accountability, in order to protect public interests and restore a healthy business competition environment.
The doctoral promotion examination was chaired by the Dean of FH UGM, Dahliana Hasan, S.H., M.Tax., Ph.D., as Chair of the Examination Committee. The research and dissertation preparation were supervised by Prof. M. Hawin, S.H., LL.M., Ph.D., as Promoter, and Prof. Dr. Ningrum Natasya Sirait, S.H., M.LI., as Co-Promoter. Other members of the examination committee included Prof. Dr. Sulistiowati, S.H., M.Hum., Irna Nurhayati, S.H., M.Hum., LL.M., Ph.D., Richo Andi Wibowo, S.H., LL.M., Ph.D., and Prof. Kurnia Toha, S.H., LL.M., Ph.D., as an external examiner from Universitas Indonesia.
This academic achievement is expected to provide a meaningful contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia. The study on healthy competition and economic efficiency is closely related to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Furthermore, the proposed reformulation of competition law procedures also supports SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) through the strengthening of effective legal institutions.
Author : Wisnu Arya Audanta (Part-Time Staff, Doctoral Program in Law)
