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27 Austl. J. Asian L. 1 (2026)

handle is hein.journals/ajal27 and id is 1 raw text is: Australian Journal ofAsian Law, 2026, Vol 27 No 1, Article 01: 1-2 In Memoriam Farewell to a Legal Visionary: Ibrahim Sjarief Assegaf, 1971-2025 Simon Butt* and Tim Lindsey* Ibrahim Sjarief Assegaf, who died on 20 May2025 after a short illness, will be remembered as one of the leaders of the transformative law reform process that emerged in Indonesia after the collapse of Soeharto's New Order in 1998, and as one of Indonesia's finest lawyers. 'Baim', as he was fondly known, was neither a politician, an agitator, nor a public figure. Indeed, he loathed public speaking, but his characteristic smiling, softly-spoken style was accompanied by intellectual brilliance and exceptional legal acumen. His natural kerendahan hati (humility) did not stop Ibrahim from becoming one ofIndonesia's most effective legal reformers. Looking to the future, he quietly drove far-reaching reform initiatives motivaed< by a vision that technology could revolutionise Indonesia aim - for t he good olfall. \ccess to basic legal inlbrmation vas certainly a gigantic challenge for Indonesians vhen Ibrahim tiurnel his attIention to it. Undler Soeharto. mosi legal pralitioners still relied on physical libraries an<l paper-basel research. Ivon the mosi basic legal tisk of finding reliable copies of staIutes anl regulat ions could be liflicult. .And to obtain jud<gments,. Iayers oflen ha<l litle choice but to buy a copy lfrom a court oflicial (vho sometimes vithheld decisions to increase their market value). This vas even the case for Imlyers seeking to find ouil decisions involving t heir ovn clients. If'legal inlfrmation vas a challenge for experiencedl pratlit ioners. it vas almost entirely inaccessible lo ordinary Indonesians. I brahim vas <deIermined to change t his by breaking dowyn the barriers Ihat preventedl t he public from undlersan<lding an<d navigating their legal rights. In 2000. he co-founded lukumonline (PT Justika Siar P'ublika). Indonesia's firsi comprehensive online legal d<aiabase (wwwyvv.hukumonline.com). It clearly met a pressing need,. an<d grew quickly. offering over four million monthly visitors anl 130)000 regisIeredl users access to saIutes an<ld regulations. importani jud<gments. an< legal analysis and ness. It also includ<es an invaluable klinik that oflers <detailedl but clear ansvers to legal quest ions aske<l by users. IFund<lamenally changing hov Indonesians access legal inlbrmation. lukumonline quickly became a vital foundation for renewed scholarly and professional interest in one of the world's most complex and least understood legal systems. The platform created what Ibrahim called 'modern legal information dissemination using internet technology'. Today, it is an indispensable tool for anyone, anywhere, working on Indonesian law. Ibrahim's campaign to make Indonesian law more transparent was not limited to Hukumonline. He understood that wider institutional reform was also a critical part of the puzzle, and that meant judicial reform was a top priority. As an advisor to the Indonesian Supreme Court's Judicial Reform Committee, he worked with civil society colleagues and reform advocates within the judiciary to promote transparency and accountability reforms. His work supported efforts to strengthen judicial independence, improve court administration systems, and enhance public access to court information, including through the establishment of the Supreme Court's decision database. Open to the public access without charge, this website now holds almost 10 million decisions from across the Indonesian court system, making it one of the largest databases of its kind in the world. Professor, Director of the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law, University of Sydney Law School. * Director of the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society (CILIS), Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and Malcom Smith Professor of Asian Law at the University of Melbourne Law School. Tim Lindsey is also an Executive Editor of the Australian Journal of Asian Law (AJAL).