Government Administrative Actions in the Rule of Law

The constitution explicitly outlines that Indonesia is a state based on law. So every government action must be based on applicable law. As public law, administrative law is based on the principles of the rule of law (rechtsstaat), the principles of democracy and in accordance with the basic concept of administrative law as a juridical instrument. The principle of the rule of law is related to guaranteeing legal protection against government power. The principle of democracy is mainly related to procedures and substance in the administration of government, both in the form of decision making and in the form of real actions. As a consequence, in a state based on law there is the principle of wetmatigheid van bestuur or the principle of legality. This principle determines that without a basis of authority granted by a prevailing law, all kinds of actions taken by government officials will not have legality and legitimacy.

The enactment of Law Number 30 of 2014 concerning Government Administration is a very appropriate step to revive the optimism of the Indonesian nation in government administration reform. This is a form of state and government responsibility to guarantee the implementation of government and public services that are fast, comfortable and cheap.

Administration government in in this case is defined as the actions of officials or government bodies that have externally binding legal force based on testing the terms and conditions stipulated in laws or other legal products. The Government Administration Law regulates the relationship between government administrative bodies or officials and the public. In this relationship, it is very closely related to bodies or officials who carry out government affairs, as regulated in Article 1 point 1 of Law Number 5 of 1986 concerning State Administrative Courts.

However, with the enactment of the Government Administration Law, state administrative law reform is moving forward towards a new paradigm. The implementation of harmonization of laws and regulations in Indonesia is an urgent and pressing need because legal development problems that still rely on a sectoral approach will only result in patchwork solutions, so that they do not solve various problems in the implementation of existing national development.

The Law on Government Administration necessitates a clear regulation of orderly government administration in running the government, such as regulating authority, types of decisions, decision testing systems and models, administrative sanctions and so on.

The Role of Government Administration in Realizing Good Governance

The direction of the public service paradigm in the implementation of government administration has changed course, especially in relation to the increasingly rapid transfer of technology, demanding the opening of the widest possible access to information. Government tasks are becoming more complex, both regarding the nature of the work, the type of task and the people who carry it out. There is a need for the determination of minimal service standards in the implementation of daily state administration and the need to provide legal protection to the public as users of services provided by state administration implementers.

These things demand new rules that can accommodate, become the legal basis for acting for every government administration apparatus. The existence of overlap authority that often occurs between State Administrative Bodies or Officials is one of the factors hindering the circulation of smooth government administration space. Therefore, the legal relationship between organizers administration the state and society need to be regulated firmly so that the parties know their respective rights and obligations in carrying out their authority.

The spirit of reform has colored the dynamics and discourse regarding the empowerment of the state apparatus with demands to create an administration that is able to support the smooth and integrated implementation of the tasks and functions of government administration and development, by applying the principles of Good Governance.

The development of state administrative law is a prerequisite in the development of state administration to create a bureaucratic ecosystem with a Good Governance climate. From the perspective of state administration, administrative reform is the improvement of a number of legal policies related to structure, processes and management, both in the fields of finance, supervision, state apparatus human resources, accountability and transparency, as well as policy making and implementation processes.

The meaning of Good Governance at a glance can be identified as a form of good and ideal government, but what it looks like and how it can be achieved still requires a more fundamental understanding. Good and clean governance is all aspects related to the control and supervision of the power that the government has in carrying out its functions through formal and informal institutions. To implement the principle Good Governance then the government must implement the principles of accountability and efficient resource management. For this reason, it needs to be supported by an effective, efficient, transparent and accountable government administration management system.

To understand and realize an understanding of Good Governance is actually quite complex, not only concerning transparency and accountability. Conceptually, it can be understood that Good Governance as the implementation of solid and responsible government management that is in line with the principles of democracy, efficient governance, and governance that is free and clean from corruption, collusion, and nepotism (KKN).

In the concept of Good Governance, the roles of government, the private sector, and society are equally important, where the government plays a role in creating a conducive political and legal situation, the private sector plays a role in creating jobs and income, and then society plays a role in facilitating social and political interaction for the mobility of individuals or community groups to participate in economic, social, and political activities. Therefore, it is necessary to take over the role of government administration that departs from the principle of Good Governance in order to guarantee a process of alignment, equality and balance of roles and participation, mutual control and synergy carried out by external components outside the government who also play an active role.

*This article is the personal opinion of the author and does not represent the views of the editors Legal Literacy Indonesia.