PATTIMURA Legal Journal starting from the April 2026 edition, the change in focus and scope is specifically to accept articles that focus on Political Legal issues.

PATTIMURA Legal Journal (PELA), abbreviated as PELA, is an open access and peer-reviewed journal, managed and published by the Postgraduate Program Docktoral in Law, Universitas Pattimura. It aims to provide a platform for academics, legal practitioners, researchers, and students to share insights, innovations, and critical approaches from the results of legal research in Indonesia and across countries in a global perspective on contemporary legal issues, especially in the field of Legal Politics applicable in a jurisdiction.

Focus:

PATTIMURA Legal Journal focuses on  an in-depth analysis of how legal principles, norms, and mechanisms interact, limit, shape, and sometimes are influenced by the political dynamics and issues within a particular country or political system. Exploring how the law functions as an instrument of power, a means of control, enforcing justice, and at the same time as an arena for political debate and negotiation. The focus is on the reciprocal relationship between the legal and political spheres, including their impact on the social, economic and business sectors, as well as environmental sustainability.

Scope:

The scope of articles published in PATTIMURA Legal Journal includes, but is not limited to, the following aspects:

1. State Institutional Relations: How law governs authority and interaction between state institutions (e.g., executive, legislative, judicial) in the context of political issues. It includes the study of checks and balances, the division of powers, and constitutional oversight mechanisms.
2. Legislation and Policy-Making Processes: An analysis of how political processes influence the formation of laws and public policies, as well as how laws provide a framework, limits, and foundation of legitimacy for those processes.
3. Elections and the Democratic Process: A study of the role of law in the conduct of fair and democratic elections, including political party regulation, campaigns, voting, vote counting, and settlement of electoral disputes.
4. Law Enforcement in Political Contexts: How the law is applied (or not applied) to political actors, political parties, or in the settlement of cases that have a strong political dimension, including issues of corruption, ethical violations, and abuse of power.
5. Human Rights and Civil Liberties in Political Dynamics: An analysis of how human rights and civil liberties (such as freedom of opinion, association, and assembly) are protected by law, and how political issues may threaten or strengthen those protections.
6. Governance and Accountability: How legal principles contribute to the creation of good, transparent, and accountable governance, especially in the face of political challenges.
7. The Role of Law in Political Conflict Resolution: How legal mechanisms can be used to prevent, manage, or resolve conflicts arising from differences of political views or power struggles.
8. Economic and Business Regulation in a Political Framework: An analysis of how political policies and legal regulations affect the investment climate, business competition, intellectual property rights, and the overall economic and business sector. It includes studies of market regulation, anti-monopoly, fiscal and monetary policies influenced by political considerations, as well as the role of law in international trade agreements.
9. The Impact of Political Issues on Economic Stability and Investment: A study of how political instability, sudden policy changes, or geopolitical issues can affect investor confidence, financial market stability, and economic growth.
10. The Role of Law in Preventing Corruption and Illegal Business Practices Rooted in Politics: An analysis of how the legal framework and its enforcement can combat corruption, bribery, and other illegal business practices that are often closely linked to political interests.
11. Environmental Regulation in a Political Context: A study of how political issues affect the formulation and implementation of environmental laws and policies. It includes an analysis of the impact of political lobbying on conservation regulation, natural resource management, environmental disaster management, and climate change policy.
12. Conflict of Interest between Economic Development and Environmental Conservation: Analysis of how political and legal considerations are decisive in balancing the needs of economic development with the demands of environmental conservation, as well as how law can be a means of mediation or exacerbate these conflicts.
13. Environmental Law Enforcement in Vulnerable Political Situations: A case study on the challenges of enforcing environmental laws in the face of political intervention, weak rule of law, or corrupt practices related to the exploitation of natural resources.
14. The Role of International Law and Environmental Treaties in Global Political Dynamics: An analysis of how international environmental treaties, such as climate change treaties, are influenced by the political interests of countries and how international law plays a role in encouraging or hindering global environmental conservation efforts.