The Indonesian Network for Clinical Legal Education (INCLE) is officially launched on March12, 2015. INCLE Secretary General, Lidwina Inge Nurtjahyo, USAID Indonesia Director of Democracy, Rights and Governance Office, Zeric Smith, and Country Representative of the Asia Foundation Sandra Hamid attended the launching.

Clinical Legal Education provides an opportunity for law students to work in legal clinics at participating universities by providing legal advice for free. The concept aims to develop the capacity of law students and provide community services. INCLE aims to improve the quality and capacity of clinical legal education in Indonesia. Through INCLE, cooperation between academia and civil society organizations to strengthen the capacity and quality of clinical legal education as well as expand the network among clinical legal education practitioners in Indonesia will be realized.

“The network to support clinical legal education in Indonesia is very important; it is one of the foundations to create legal awareness among the community. Legal awareness builds the ability to monitor accountability and implementation services of legal enforcement process in Indonesia.” said Zeric Smith, USAID Indonesia Director of Democracy, Rights and Governance Office.

INCLE now has 19 CSOs and seven university members to provide integrated clinical legal education under the national curriculum. Several of these clinics are: anti-graft clinic, criminal law clinic, civil law clinic, environmental law clinic, and women and children protection clinic. The clinical legal education has generated studies, teaching modules, disseminations on laws and street law in schools (elementary schools, junior secondary schools, high schools) and universities, established post to manage complaints of violence on campus, provided legal aid at LKBH (legal consultation body) at campuses, partner clinics, and prisons. Seven school of laws and partner CSOs (University of North Sumatera, Sriwijaya University, Padjadjaran University, University of Indonesia, Gajah Mada University, Hasanuddin University, Udayana University, Pukat, WCC Palembang, Pusaka, and Bandung Legal Aid/LBH) initiated INCLE.

"INCLE is expected to help promote, encourage, and strengthen clinical legal education in Indonesia through the exchange of information among its members, particularly in terms of teaching material, training, conferences, and the network to communicate national and international Civil Society Organizations (CSO)s", said Lidwina Nurtjahyo, INCLE Secretary General. "One example is the for Law Clinic for the Protection of Women at the University of Indonesia, which has started doing legal consultations in collaboration with the Women and Gender Research Center, at the University of Indonesia. The clinic is providing streetlaw program in some highschools in Jakarta and West Java and serve as a post for legal consultation for women and children.

INCLE is supported by USAID through the USAID Educating and Equipping Tomorrow’s Justice Reformers (E2J) project implemented by The Asia Foundation.