The Islamic University of Yogyakarta conducted a conference on public participation in legal drafting and implementation of local regulations on 4th of February 2012. This event, which attracted more than 80 participants comprising members of the local parliament at provincial and district level, representatives of the law faculty of this university and further interested stakeholders, aimed to discuss issues related to improved public involvement in the elaboration and implementation of local regulations and decrees.

Keynote speaker of this event was the president of the Indonesian Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi), Prof. Mahfud MD, who delivered a speech on the problem of the conformity of the local decrees (implemented by municipal and district governments) to the Indonesian constitution. Until today, there are about 350 decrees which, followed by a revision from the Ministry of Home Affairs, have been declared as not conform to the constitution. This applies in particular to decrees which relate to the partial implementation of Sharia law such as public dress code and the prohibition to serve alcohol. These decrees restrict the personal rights which are guaranteed by the Indonesian constitution and can be enforced by the Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung). Another possibility is the judicial review at the Constitutional Court after an affected person has filed an according complaint.

Further speakers at the seminar covered the following topics:

1. Civic participation for creating new decrees from a practical point of view:
   
   In this context, the newly elected mayor of the small Javanese town Salatiga presented the already existing forms of civic participation such as an interactive website of the municipal government, a municipal newspaper and public hearings. According to him, these methods lead to a good integration of the population when it comes to the creation and implementation of new decrees.
   
   
2. Civic participation for creating new decrees from a technical and theoretical point of view:
   
   This angle was covered by two representatives from the law faculty of the UII. They emphasized the fact that civic participation for creating new decrees was not necessary per se, as the delegates who are responsible for decrees have already been elected by the people. However, the various approaches of civic participation underline the local government’s desire to integrate the people’s concerns in a special way.
   
   
3. Additionally, the director of HSF Indonesia presented common methods in German communities and municipalities regarding civic participation. Among those are the public display of development plans, proposals, public hearings, referendums and also coordination between concerned local authorities.