The Anglo-Saxon System of Common Law and the Development of the Legal System in Indonesia

Indonesia’s legal system is dynamically developing. Courts and constitutional judges often make legal discoveries to fill in the absence of law or to update existing laws. They do so to suit the most current needs. This condition should be an anomaly in Indonesia’s existing legal system as it applies to the civil law legal system. This research aims to track the roots of Indonesia’s legal system and to discover its development. Indonesia generally applied the civil law system. The practice where judges find and form laws in court is a convergence of the Common Law justice system. This system influences the legal system in Indonesia. In addition, Indonesian laws and regulations also adopted several legal concepts that are commonly found in the Anglo-Saxon legal system or the Common Law, such as Class Action, Citizen Lawsuits, and other concepts.