Universitas Gadjah Mada students once again achieved success, this time through the Faculty of Law. The debate team led by Jovi Andrea Bachtiar, founder of the UGM Law and Government Debating Community, secured another national-level achievement. Together with Aris Munandar (FH 2014) and Aqlatul Gondho Ubudiah (FH 2013), Jovi won second place in the Law and Constitutional Debate Competition organized by the Faculty of Law, Hasanuddin University, on 25–27 August 2017. The team’s journey was far from easy. After finishing as group runners-up, they advanced to the round of 16, where they faced a team from Sriwijaya University. The motion debated was “Revision of the Anti-Terrorism Law.” Representing the proposition, the UGM team secured a victory and advanced to the next round. In the semifinals, they faced Trunojoyo University on the motion “Implementation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 2 of 2017.” The UGM team once again prevailed, winning by a 3–2 victory point score.
In the final, the UGM delegation faced Universitas Indonesia (UI). The motion was “The Constitutional Court’s Authority to Review Constitutional Complaints.” The debate featured an in-depth discussion of constitutional law and constitutionalism, drawing on Indonesia’s positive law as well as legal systems in the United States, Austria, Germany, and South Korea. These comparative perspectives provided a broader examination of constitutional systems for the audience in attendance.
The seven-member judging panel, comprising academics from the Faculty of Law, Hasanuddin University, acknowledged the strong analytical abilities demonstrated by both the UGM and UI teams. This made it difficult for the judges to determine the winner of the 2017 Hasanuddin University National Law and Constitutional Debate Competition (Gebyar Konstitusi). Ultimately, the judges awarded first place to UI and second place to UGM.
The Dean of the Faculty of Law emphasized the importance of maintaining and building on this tradition of excellence. He stated that the faculty would continue supporting students with interests in debate by providing the necessary facilities and, if needed, establishing a debate community to nurture students’ talents in the field, alongside existing academic communities such as moot court and scientific writing communities that have already developed at FH UGM.
