Law Together with Community, Paralegal Training for Bona Village Development, Udayana University Plays a Central Role as the Front Guard of Legal Effectiveness

MBKM Bina Desa Bona, Udayana University (Unud) collaborates with the Cakra Eka Sudarsana Legal Aid Institute to organize a superior Paralegal Training work program which takes place at Wantilan Pura Dalem, Bona Village, which lasts for 3 days (31 May, 7 June, 18 June 2024). This work program is an effort to make it easier for people to get protection under the law.

Fulfilling access to legal objectives (certainty, usefulness and justice) is one concrete form that is encouraged through optimizing the formation of paralegals at the village level as legal aid units in the village environment. Later, after carrying out 3 days of training through the delivery of 9 materials by BPHN, LBH CES and the Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, in the final stage there will be an actualization and exam, before being assessed and declared capable of carrying out responsibilities as a paralegal.

This activity is a contribution and direct implementation of one of the Tri Dharmas of Higher Education, namely the Dharma of Service. Dr. Made Gde Subha Karma Resen, SH., M.Kn as the Coordinator of the Undergraduate Law Study Program who is also the pioneer of Village Development at the Faculty of Law, Udayana University, said that through village development students are expected to be able to take a community-centred approach in launching an activity that aims to for village and community development. Students can help identify problems, formulate solutions together with the community, and involve them actively at every stage. The problem identification carried out must really be able to find and map the needs of the community and not just the desires of the community.

This is what underlies the spirit of dedication of Bona Village Development in developing Bona Village specifically. This year MBKM Bina Village Bona students launched the formation of paralegals in Bona Village as an effort to develop a legally aware village. Currently, it could be said that there is a distance between law enforcement and the community, this can be seen from how the community, especially those in villages, are confused when faced with legal problems. In fact, legal problems often occur in village community structures, especially in Bali. When positive law collides with custom, it is not uncommon for new conflicts to occur which give rise to complicated situations in the village. This is where paralegals play an important role, because paralegals can be a bridge to fill empty spaces that arise in society in efforts to resolve the law.

Chairman of the Cakra Eka Sudarsana Legal Aid Institute, Ida Bagus Made Tilem, SH., MH., CLA., said that LBH CES as one of the accredited Legal Aid Institutions in Bali is ready to fully support the implementation of Paralegal Training in Bona Village. This then becomes a reference for becoming more mature in its implementation. According to Cokorda Bayu Tresna as Deputy Chair of Bona Village Development, paralegals have an important role in the village community structure. The reason is simple, paralegals are felt to be able to enter and touch every social element in the structure of village society so that in efforts to resolve legal problems the solutions obtained will be more appropriate and social.

In Bona Village itself, those targeted for taking part in paralegal training are traditional leaders, kelian banjar, village heads, including the village head and his staff. This is done for the reason that these traditional leaders will be the first to be present in a society that is in conflict. In an effort to find the right solution to a legal problem, it is important to be able to touch the root of the problem and provide guidance as early as possible so that the existing problem does not escalate and the resolution becomes more complicated.

It is hoped that the presence of paralegals in Bona Village will greatly impact their presence in the community. This was conveyed by Luh Putu Mila Sindang Sundari as the Bona Village Bina Advocacy Team, that apart from having to be able to play a very important role in being able to mediate a case, a paralegal is also expected to be agent in building a culture of legal awareness in society. This is also based on an understanding of conflict management in society, it is not enough just to use a social and cultural approach but also a legal approach.

Therefore, paralegals are expected to play a role in prevention, handling execution, and post-conflict recovery. In addition, with the presence of village paralegals, it is hoped that they can help play the role of an advocate in the village area as well as policy advocacy activities at the village level for people in vulnerable and marginalized positions so that they still have the same rights in getting access to legal protection, in accordance with the mandate Equality Before The Law (everyone has the right to receive equal treatment before the law).