A total of 18 students from the Faculty of Law Universitas Gadjah Mada (FH UGM) began participating in the Prosecutorial Clinic on Monday (11/4). This elective course, which forms part of the Legal Skills Education and Training Program (Pendidikan dan Latihan Kemahiran Hukum / PLKH), provides students with the opportunity to become directly involved in handling cases at the prosecutorial level under the supervision of prosecutors serving as mentors. Each prosecutor supervised six students divided into two groups. The prosecutors involved were Tri Ratnawati, S.H. and Deri Rahmawati, S.H. from the Yogyakarta High Prosecutor’s Office (Kejaksaan Tinggi / Kejati), as well as Sarwoto, S.H., M.H.Li. from the Yogyakarta District Prosecutor’s Office (Kejaksaan Negeri / Kejari).
This 2-credit course requires students to follow the development of actual cases within the respective prosecutor’s offices, rather than merely examining cases that already possess permanent legal force (inkracht van gewijsde). “So, students do not only read case files that are already final and binding, but rather files that have genuinely just been submitted by investigators to prosecutors, after which they are invited to jointly examine them together with prosecutors,” explained Sigid Riyanto, S.H., M.Si., Head of the Criminal Law Department of FH UGM. This approach aligns with the objective of the course, which has been part of the FH UGM curriculum since 2011, namely to improve students’ legal competencies. “The goal is for students to gain practical skills in carrying out case-handling duties at the prosecutorial level,” added Sigid.
Throughout one semester, students are taught how to handle cases, beginning from file examination to the drafting of indictments. This includes various stages such as examining case files, determining whether a case requires a P-19 return or has reached P-21 status, preparing prosecution plans, drafting indictments, formulating prosecutorial demands, and potentially drafting prosecutorial replies (replik). In the future, this course is expected to evolve into a Criminal Law Clinic encompassing the professions of investigators, prosecutors, judges, and advocates.
Students interested in enrolling in this elective PLKH class must first undergo a selection process due to the limited number of students who can receive optimal supervision. Moh. Nur Faizin, one of the Prosecutorial Clinic students who had the opportunity to study at the Yogyakarta High Prosecutor’s Office, admitted that he was interested in taking the course because it allowed direct field practice with legal practitioners. “I want to learn more and better understand how things work in practical settings,” said Faizin. (Lita)
