Adriaan Bedner

Bio: Adriaan Bedner is an academic researcher from Leiden University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Human rights & Land law. The author has an hindex of 16, co-authored 36 publications receiving 574 citations. Previous affiliations of Adriaan Bedner include Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies.

Suatu pendekatan elementer terhadap negara hukum [An Elementary Approach to the Rule of Law]

Abstract: The past ten years have seen an avalanche of literature on the rule of law, but little agreement on a definition of the concept — if it is defined at all. The present article offers a conceptual framework to deal with this situation. Departing from the two main functions the rule of law intends to serve — protecting citizens against the state and against one another — it dissects the various definitions in use into elements. These elements are discussed one by one and arranged in three categories: procedural elements, substantive elements and control mechanisms.The result may not only be helpful in structuring debates about the rule of law, but also in evaluating claims about the success or failure of ‘rule of law development’. Finally, the article contains suggestions on how to use this framework as a starting point for interdisciplinary research into the rule of law.

Plurality of marriage law and marriage registration for Muslims in Indonesia: a plea for pragmatism

Abstract: This article discusses the law and practice of Muslim marriages and their registration in Indonesia. The central question is to what extent these accommodate the rights and needs of poor women. A historical overview of state involvement in marriage regulation demonstrates how the women’s rights discourse has been largely replaced by one based on Islamic law, but that nonetheless women’s rights in marriage have been substantively reinforced. The next part discusses the control of Muslim marriage in practice, by focusing on the registration of marriage and divorce. It shows how informal practices at the lowest level of the state and state courts serving as a safety net protect the rights of poor women in practice much more effectively than is often assumed. These findings undermine the assumptions underlying the current emphasis by national women’s rights groups and donors on extending state registration and criminalising non-registration. This emphasis on the juridification of people’s lives by casting the issue essentially in terms of human rights and remedies may in fact even lead to the opposite of what it aims to achieve: more liberty for women to dispose of their own lives.

An Elementary Approach to the Rule of Law

Abstract: The past ten years have seen an avalanche of literature on the rule of law, but little agreement on a definition of the concept — if it is defined at all. The present article offers a conceptual framework to deal with this situation. Departing from the two main functions the rule of law intends to serve — protecting citizens against the state and against one another — it dissects the various definitions in use into elements. These elements are discussed one by one and arranged in three categories: procedural elements, substantive elements and control mechanisms.

The return of the native in Indonesian law: Indigenous communities in Indonesian legislation

Abstract: Although the UN-proclaimed ‘Decade for Indigenous Peoples’ officially ended in 2004, the continuing array of activities in support of special ‘indigenous rights’ shows that this movement has lost little of its impetus. In spite of criticism of the underpinnings and of the consequences of attributing special rights to ‘indigenous communities’ (Kuper 2003), support for them has remained strong – among NGOs, international organizations, governments, and scholars who do not agree with the criticism. The most notable event in this context is that after having failed to do so in 2004 the United Nations finally adopted the ‘Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ on 13 September 2007, with an overwhelming 144 countries voting in favour. Thus, there is little reason to suppose that the movement will run out of steam in the near future.

Adat in Indonesian Land Law: A Promise for the Future or a Dead End?

Abstract: At present the contestation of the Indonesian state’s dispossessory policies regarding land and other natural resources is dominated by a discourse based on adat. This situation is reminiscent of the colonial period, when invoking adat was a relatively effective means of protecting Indonesians from losing their land to plantation companies supported by the Netherlands–Indies government. However, adat lost its traction when Indonesia became independent and the new state started to vigorously pursue nation building and economic expansion. Only after the end of the New Order in 1998 did civil society groups revive the adat defence against dispossession. This article analyses current debates and developments concerning the place of adat in national land law and its potential for protecting communities against dispossession of their land by the Indonesian state. We argue that the promotion of adat has produced few concrete results and that it is unlikely to be more successful for this purpose in the future. Given Indonesia’s current social and political realities, any land rights strategy for protecting people against dispossession that is based on indigeneity is problematic, and alternative approaches are needed.

Governance in global value chains

Abstract: This book opens a fresh chapter in the debate on local enterprise clusters and their strategies for upgrading in the global economy. The authors employ a novel conceptual framework in their research on industrial clusters in Europe, Latin America and Asia and provide new perspectives and insights for researchers and policymakers alike.

Human Rights and Gender Violence: Translating International Law into Local Justice:

Abstract: ity between and within each country, the former allows the rich in both poor and rich countries to “intermingle” in the calculation of global inequality, which is then fully decomposable into the between and within country components. What the survey data show is that global inequality first increased between 1988 and 1993 and then decreased from 1993 to 1998, reflecting the stagnation of poor rural areas of China and India in the first period, and the slight catching up of poor rural areas in the second period. Furthermore, Milanovic shows that previous attempts at capturing this type of inequality reach conflicting conclusions regarding the trend, which in turn reflect different assumptions and data sources, most of which bias the calculated results downward. The final section discusses the future of global inequality, and what can be done to redress it. Where previous studies express confidence in a declining global inequality trend, Milanovic is less confident, suggesting that we can be certain only that inequality is high. Furthermore, since the trend depends heavily on the performance of one country— China, predictions about future trends are speculative at best. Milanovic is certain about two things. First, global inequality is immoral. Second, redistribution is possible and would be both moral and efficient to the development of humanity as a whole.

Land's End: Capitalist Relations on an Indigenous Frontier

Abstract: Book review of Li, Tania Murray. 2014. Land’s End: Capitalist Relations on an Indigenous Frontier. Durham, North Carolina and London: Duke University Press. 225 + xiv pp.

Sharia Incorporated. A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present

Abstract: Table of contents - 6 Acknowledgements - 8 Editorial note - 11 Preface - 12 1. Introduction: investigating the role of sharia in national law - 18 2. Sharia and national law inEgypt - 52 3. Sharia and national law in Morocco - 90 4. Sharia and national law in Saudi Arabia - 140 5 Shari'a and national law in the Sudan - 182 6. Islam and national law in Turkey - 232 7. Sharia and national law in Afghanistan - 274 8. Sharia and national law in Iran - 320 9. Sharia and national law in Pakistan - 374 10. Sharia and national law in Indonesia - 434 11. Sharia and national law in Malaysia - 492 12. Sharia and national law in Mali - 530 13. Sharia and national law in Nigeria - 554 14. Towards comparative conclusions on the role of sharia in national law - 614 Annexe: Tables - 656 Glossary - 662 About the contributors - 674

Powers of exclusion: land dilemmas in Southeast Asia

Abstract: Powers of exclusion: land dilemmas in Southeast Asia, by Derek Hall, Phillip Hirsch and Tania Murray Li, Singapore, National University of Singapore Press, 2011, 226 pp., ISBN 978-9971-69-541-5 (pa...