Rate My Professor Simon Butt

Professor Simon Butt is the Professor of Indonesian Law and Director of the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law at the University of Sydney Law School. A Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA), he holds a BA and LLB from the Australian National University and a PhD from the University of Melbourne. His PhD thesis, titled Judicial Review in Indonesia: Between Civil Law and Accountability? A Study of Constitutional Court Decisions 2003-2005, received the University of Melbourne Chancellor's Prize for Excellence in the PhD Thesis.

Simon Butt's research specializes in the Indonesian legal system, focusing on judicial decision-making, constitutional law, corruption, and anti-corruption courts. He authored the book Judicial Dysfunction in Indonesia (Melbourne University Press, 2023), examining miscarriages of justice and judicial corruption. He co-authored Indonesian Law with Tim Lindsey (Oxford University Press, 2018). His publications include articles such as Judicial Reasoning and Review in the Indonesian Supreme Court (Asian Journal of Law and Society, 2018), Multilayered Oversight: Electoral Administration in Indonesia (Asian Journal of Comparative Law, 2021), and Evidence from Criminal Law Experts in Indonesian Criminal Trials (International Journal of Evidence & Proof, 2023). With over 1,300 citations on Google Scholar, his work significantly impacts scholarship on Southeast Asian law.

Prior to his current roles, Butt consulted on the Indonesian legal system for the Australian government, private sector, UNDP, and ICJ. He has received Australian Research Council funding, including a Future Fellowship (FT150100294) for research on Indonesia's anti-corruption courts, an Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship (DP110104287), and Discovery Project DP1095541. He teaches Indonesian law and private international law at the University of Sydney Law School.