The Supreme Court has determined the strategic steps for Human Resources Management 2020-2024 within the Supreme Court and it’s four jurisdiction of judiciary according to the blueprint for judiciary reform 2010-2035, must be based on competency-based. This is aligned with the demands of bureaucratic reform which obliged human resource administrators to shift the role of administrative personnel to more strategic personnel management.

In accordance with the strategic steps, The Directorate General of Religious Judiciary has held Fulbright scholarship webinar for Religious Court Personnel collaborating with AMINEF (the American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation). The webinar started by the opening remarks from the Director General of Religious Judiciary of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia Mr. Dr. Drs H. Aco Nur, S.H. M.H., hosted by the Director of technical and administrative personnel development of the religious judiciary Mr. Dr. Chandra Boy Seroza, S.Ag. M.Ag. and the presentation from the Associate Communication Officer of AMINEF Mrs. Miftahul Mardliyah as keynote speaker.

Mr. Director General said in his opening remarks about the human resource development within the religious judiciary “to build the vision of modern and trusted religious judiciary, a professional and qualified personnel are essential. That is why I encouraged judges and religious court personnel to enhance their skills and competencies by participating in this scholarships program”. In addition, Mr. Director then continued by describing the Directorate General of Religious Judiciary as one of the 7 Echelons one of the Supreme Court with 441 work units across Indonesia, 9.377 court personnel consisting of 2.980 judges, 4.050 registry personnel and 2.118 secretariat personnel.

There are scholarships relevant and suitable for religious court personnel as Miftahul Mardliyah said in her presentation, such as Fulbright master and doctoral degree, non-degree scholarships Hubert H. Humphrey fellowship program for Mid-Career Professionals and Fulbright US–ASEAN Visiting Scholar Initiative Program.

The general requirements for applying the scholarship are:

1. Be an Indonesian citizen and not a permanent resident of the US, or be currently living in the US
2. Possess leadership qualities and show experience in community service
3. Have preparation in, and a demonstrated commitment to their chosen field of study
4. Be proficient in English
5. Have an outstanding academic record
6. Demonstrate that they can realistically accomplish full-time graduate study or conduct research in the US
7. Demonstrate a strong commitment to return to Indonesia upon completion of the Fulbright scholarship program

While hosting the webinar, Mr Chandra Boy Seroza conveyed that as a state of law, religious court is one of essential institution in the foundation of this country, that any changes and/or policies made within the religious judiciary will have great impacts toward the society. Furthermore, the Directorate General of Religious judiciary’s effort to hone its judiciary personnel will determine the shape of religious judiciary in the future, if the state provides opportunities for them to develop themselves in continuing their studies to a higher degree at the best universities in the world. Unquestionably, the investment in education for religious court personnel will pay off back to the state.

The webinar was followed by the Directorate General of the Religious Judiciary personnel, 29 religious courts of Appeal, and 412 religious courts of first instance across Indonesia and was meant to provide information and support for religious court personnel who are willing to pursue their master degree, doctoral degree, and even short course programs at best universities in the United States of America as well as hoping for best scheme of further partnership between the Directorate General of the Religious Judiciary and AMINEF in terms of providing scholarships for higher education for religious court personnel to build and enhance a professional court personnel. (yh)

For further information on scholarships provided by AMINEF please click on the link AMINEF - American Indonesian Exchange Foundation