ALSA 2025 meeting

This study examines how higher education institutions can function as agents of change in the justice ecosystem. Moving on from the idea that access to justice is more than just legal services, this research highlights the transformative role of Hasanuddin University (Unhas) as an institution of higher education. This role goes beyond doctrinal teaching in the classroom and is realized through the synergy between education, research, and community service to provide solutions to the structural barriers faced by vulnerable groups, particularly in the diverse Eastern Region of Indonesia. This research argues that universities are not just ivory towers of knowledge, but active engines of social justice.
This research is an empirical legal research with a structural approach. Data collection will emphasize in-depth interviews with stakeholders to gain a comprehensive understanding by targeting: (1) officials at the Rectorate and Dean levels of the Faculty of Law to understand strategic visions and policies; (2) the head of the Legal Aid Unit as an Academic Support to map the institutional mechanism; (3) lecturers and students who are directly involved in legal aid programs to find out their experiences in the field; and (4) practitioners from external legal aid institutions outside the campus to triangulate and validate findings from an external perspective.
By analysing the interaction between these various elements, this study aims to show how Unhas transformatively affects access to justice. The findings are expected to articulate a model in which higher education consciously integrates the perspectives of marginalized communities into the Tri dharma of higher education, not only producing legal practitioners, but also actively shaping a more equitable and equitable legal landscape. This study will make an empirical contribution to the discourse on how universities in Asia can be a mirror as well as a tool for social transformation.