Advocates Asia Conference 2014: Invite the executants of law to have integrity

Indonesia hosted the 13th Advocates Asia Conference which took place on October 31 to November 2, 2014. About 200 participants attended the conference, they came from different countries, including USA, Germany, Australia, Mongols, Russia, Korea, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Participants of the seminar consisted of legal academics, advocates, human rights activists, law-concerned clergy, as well as anti-corruption executants. The conference grew with the perspective of doing justice while being relevant to the different regions in all over the world. It all started in the United States, and started spreading to other countries. They aim to gather believers who would be on their knees to pray, as the foundation of their strength in fighting for justice, and basically, to learn how to be a Christian who practices law. “The most important thing is that we undergird all of [our law practices] with prayer. Our mission is to encourage, equip, and enable advocates to do justice in different areas” said Brent McBurney, President & CEO of Advocates International.

The conference was also initiated by the Indonesian Christian Legal Society (ICLS) which raised the issue of the integrity and the rule of law in society, particularly regarding cases of corruption and its negative impact on the economy and human rights violations. The 13th Advocates Asia Conference discussed the issue of human rights, in particular the problem of sex trafficking and religious freedom.

The main venue of this conference took place at the Hotel Aryaduta Lippo Karawaci and some other discussion sessions were conducted at UPH campus located not far from the hotel. Several UPH lecturers also took part in the conference including Patrick M. Talbot who acted as a speaker and also as steering committee in the conference. Some of the topics presented by Talbot were, Christian Foundations of Law, and Starting a CLS (Christian Law Society) Chapter on Your Campus. Other UPH academics who also took part as a panelist in the panel discussions were Prof. Aleksius Jemadu Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Social UPH, and Dr. Jamin Ginting, UPH Faculty of Law?s lecturer.

According to Dwiputra, one of the participants of the seminar and lecturers of UPH Faculty of Law, “This conference is very good for colleagues working in the field of law to be reminded and strengthened so as to integrate faith and love in his calling, in order to have more integrity.” This conference voiced the importance of integrity for law enforcement and everyone involved in the legal field.

“If the nation is to change, there must be law enforcement. And it has to start from people who have integrity. For example, in dealing with cases, advocates should have a heart. To look at the case with faith. In this conference, advocates are reminded to further maximize their social role,” added Dwiputra.

UPH Faculty of Law, as a Christian university of excellence in the field of law in Indonesia and internationally, is called to be able to make a real contribution in the field of law, whether in education, government and also society. As a commitment of UPH Faculty of Law in building future legal professionals who have intergrity, UPH Faculty of Law will begin to form a student fellowship at the Faculty of Law. With this activity, students are expected to find their calling in the legal field. “I spent 5 months in psychiatric wards going through law school. I was arrested once. I’ve been a lawyer for 24 years and I’ve had the privilege of representing Australia twice, at the largest gathering of Christian legal professionals in history, in Washington D.C. So the Lord found me in the sad house, saved me from the big house, trained me in the court house, and took me to the White House. So if He can do that with me, how much more can He do with all the students…” said Mark Mudri, Principal, Mark Mudri & Associates (rh/caca)

Brent McBurney, President & CEO of  Advocates International gave Advocates International’s Tshirt to Jonathan L Parapak, Rector UPH	Interview session with the speakers of 13th Advocates Asia Conference 2014
Brent McBurney (President & CEO, Advocates International) introduced Advocates International	John Eidsmoe, Colonel (AL) ASDF (Lt. Colonel, USAF (Ret.), Pastor, Attorney)
Mark Mudri (Principal, Mark Mudri & Associates)	Patrick M. Talbot (Steering Committee for Advocates Asia Conference 2014, Lecturer of School of Law, UPH)