Nowadays, people can access information through technology, such as on social media, easier and faster for messages’ scroll. Social media itself makes the distance amongs people be closer. On social media, an ordinary citizen can interact with officials directly and vice versa. As the results, it creates excessive public euphoria. People feel free-value to give opinions and criticisms to others, especially in speech form.
In language perspective, the speech in the form of opinion and criticism that was delivered by some social media users can be slipped in legal cases, namely insult and defamation. Most of those cases are violation to the Law concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (UU-ITE or the ITE Law). Mostly, it starts from uploading content on social media.
In language perspective, the speech in the form of opinion and criticism that was delivered by some social media users can be slipped in legal cases, namely insult and defamation. Most of those cases are violation to the Law concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (UU-ITE or the ITE Law). Mostly, it starts from uploading content on social media. Data on the percentage of cases of violations to the ITE Law on social media shows Facebook users are on the top rank with 54.69 percent. Furthermore, Twitter reaching 11.84 percent, and YouTube at 4.90 percent. It should be noted that those case reports often contains more than one social media platform’s evidence.
In another side, platform which is used as evidence in reporting of the ITE Law cases is the message communication platform (messenger). In general, those media are not public in nature, such as short messages or SMS (3.27 percent), Whatsapp (2.45 percent) and BBM (0.82 percent) (Gerintya, 2020).
Language Experts’ Assistance are Needed
Institutions or professions who are related to the judicial process, such as the police, prosecutors, judges, and lawyers need an assistance of language expert. Language experts are needed regarding to language cases.
In specific case, it is still found that the use of language is not proper and correct. We can found it in creating laws and regulations products, such as regional regulations, governor’s regulations, etc. As a consequence, it can raise various problems, such as multi-interpretations.
The use of Indonesian in the legal field is still far from expectations. In the field of law, the Indonesian language that stated in the laws and regulations and various decisions often has multi-interpretations and is not straightforward. It was caused the regulators and law enforcers have not mastered the Indonesian language properly and correctly.
Further, the lack of equivalent vocabulary of Indonesian made various existing legal documents still used foreign languages, such as English and Dutch. Hadikusuma (2006: 3) states that the legal language which we use is still in the old order style and the semantics of words are imperfect and also the form of sentence composition contains the terms that are not fixed and unclear.
In addition, Public Notary and PPAT as officials who have the authority to make legal products, agreements, deeds of establishment, and others still oriented towards Dutch in the legal language. In other words, it becomes an obstacle for people to understand the language of law.
As a result, sometimes raise the misunderstanding due to the use of language in legal products issued by Public Notary and PPAT. Moreover, there are also Public Notary who have been tangled up in a legal case because of the misuse of language in legal products that created legal loopholes.
Hence, on December 8 and 9, 2020, at the Mercure Hotel, Samarinda, Language Office of East Kalimantan Province (hereinafter named the Office) organized Focus Group Discussion on Interinstitutions and Professions Synergy in Language and Law Framework. It held for introducing language and law’s connections to institutions or professions, to deliver an understanding of forensic linguistics, to provide an understanding of language services at the East Kalimantan Provincial Language Office to institutions and professions, hearing process between institutions and professions about services in language and legal product, building a synergy between Language Office of East Kalimantan Province and universities as providers of legal and language experts, and to improve the quality of the use of proper and correct language in legal products, such as laws, regional regulations, governor regulations, notary deeds, and others.
Focus Group Discussion was presenting Head of Language Development and Fostering Agency as keynote speaker, Chair of 9th Commisions of the East Kalimantan House of Representative, Representative of the East Kalimantan Government, Representative of the East Kalimantan Ombudsman, Representative of the East Kalimantan Police, the East Kalimantan Prosecutors Office.
Furthermore, some participants were attended, namely Head of the Language Office of East Kalimantan Province, KKLP Language and Law of the Office, KKLP Language and Literature Counselling of the Office, KKLP Translation of the Office, the East Kalimantan Indonesian Notary Association, the East Kalimantan Land Deed Officials Association, the East Kalimantan Indonesian Advocates Association, Samarinda Police, the East Kalimantan Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Mulawarman University (Faculty of Law and Master Program in Language and Literature Education), the East Kalimantan Press Council, the East Kalimantan High Court, the East Kalimantan Education Office, and the East Kalimantan and North Kalimantan Language Ambassador. Finally, it is expected that broader synergy between institution and professions can be developed. All speakers emphasis on the important to use proper and correct Indonesian language, including its translation, at the entire legal products that set up by the institutions and professions.
Written by Muhammad Erwin Darma