“the Role of Civil Society to Foster Bottom-up Approaches in Policy Reform (Study Case: Indonesian Open Government Partnership)"

Access to Justice is currently an important subject on the global Development agenda, focused on incorporating the concept of people-centered justice into the creation of policies. To ensure the enforceability of this principle, the government, as a policy maker, must engage in cooperation and active involvement with civil society organizations. This article explores the effective implementation of a social justice reform agenda in Indonesia by examining the interaction between the government and civil society actors. Specifically, it will focus on the Open Government Partnership platform, which has achieved success in establishing regulations enhancing access to legal aid for vulnerable groups in Indonesia. Based on the 2023 Democracy Index Report by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Indonesia's democracy index was recorded at a score of 6.53. Even though Indonesia's score and ranking decreased compared to the previous year, this shows that the Indonesian government still foster participation from civil society organizations in terms of policy formulation. This is also proven by the increase of the civic participation aspect in the Open Government sub-factors in Indonesia's World Justice Project Index with a score of 0.55. This article will analyze further the dynamics of the observed relationship and the underlying reasons behind the successful efforts of civil society organizations in advocating for policy reform with Indonesian government officials. Through qualitative research, this article will emphasize socio-legal perspectives by conducting in-depth interviews and observation of relevant study, and administrative documents. The results of this research will be expected to serve as a record of best practices and a reference for strengthening future policy change through bottom-up approaches in Indonesia. By documenting successful methods and strategies, the article provide insights into how Indonesian civil society can offer grassroots perspectives and local knowledge that can be meaningfully integrated into Indonesian decision-making in justice sectors