Todung Mulya Lubis
Todung Mulya Lubis (born, 4 July, 1949) is Indonesia’s leading corporate & human rights.
He is Founder and Senior Partner of Lubis Santosa & Partners, where he heads the corporate and commercial practice group as well as the dispute resolution practice. Over more than four decades, he has led numerous major transactions and high-profile litigations in Indonesia and abroad. Among his most notable and documented cases, he acted for convicted drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran known as ringleaders of the so-called Bali Nine drug ring. Todung also represented PT Freeport Indonesia in a contract divestment dispute. Pfizer Indonesia engaged him in judicial proceedings against the allegation of price fixing, cartel and abuse of dominant position with respect to the production and distribution of certain medicines. Chambers Global has described him as “the most highly effective advocate in Indonesia” and “an invaluable lobbyist with an extraordinary profile and enormous clout.” He is listed in The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers as a prominent practitioner in dispute resolution and was named a leading individual by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.
An exceptional intellectual, Todung graduated with a Sarjana Hukum from the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia in 1974. He earned a Masters of Law from the University of California, Berkeley in 1978 and a second LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 1987. He received his Doctor of Juridical Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990 and completed specialised studies at the Institute of American and International Law in Dallas in 1977. A dedicated academic, he lectures on law-related subjects at several leading universities, including the Faculty of Law and Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia, Atmajaya University, and the University of North Sumatra. He is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences on law, governance, and human rights.
He is a prolific author, publishing numerous books and hundreds of articles on legal reform, human rights, democracy, and economic development. His notable works include “War on Corruption: An Indonesian Experience (2023) which explores the history of corruption in Indonesia in the post-Suharto era; the novel “Menunda Kekalahan (2021), a legal fiction inspired by the Bali Nine case that tackles the controversial topic of the death penalty; and “Dari Kediktatoran Sampai Miss Saigon (2013), a collection of interviews and reflections highlighting his long and pernicious journey as a social and political activist.
Todung is also deeply engaged in civil society and public service. He served as Indonesia’s Ambassador to Norway and Iceland from 2018 to 2023. He currently serves as Chairman of the Indonesian International Crisis Group and Chairman of the Executive Board of Transparency International Indonesia, and holds trustee, founding, or advisory positions with various organisations focused on legal aid, electoral reform, human rights, anti-corruption, and conservation. He is a panel arbitrator at the Indonesian National Board of Arbitration and the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. He is a licensed Receiver and Administrator as well as a Registered Patent Consultant.
His previous roles include Director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation, President of the Jakarta Lawyer Club, Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Advocates Association, Vice Chairman of the Central General Election Supervisory Committee, and Vice Chairman of the Human Rights Investigation Commission for East Timor.