JAKARTA - The world of education and Indonesian diplomacy is in mourning, following the news of the death of Professor and international law expert, former Ambassador, Professor Dr. Eddy Pratomo SH, MA.
In its upload on the X social media, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condolences for the death of Ambassador Eddy Pratomo on Wednesday (29/4).
"His departure is a great loss, not only for his family and colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also for the Indonesian academic and diplomatic world," wrote the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as quoted.
Previously, Ambassador Eddy Pratomo was reported to have died at Mandaya Hospita Puri, around 08:00 WIB.
Professor Eddy is the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Pancasila University, as well as a Professor of Law at Diponegoro University.
He previously served as the Director General of International Law and Agreements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Germany, and Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Indonesia for the determination of the Indonesian-Malaysian maritime boundary.
Last year, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Arif Havas Oegroseno announced the nomination of Professor Eddy as a judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for the 2026-2035 term.
At that time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Havas explained that Professor Eddy's candidacy was inseparable from Indonesia as a state party to the international law of the sea convention UNCLOS 1982. However, since ITLOS was established in the same year, Indonesia has never had a judge sitting in the international maritime law court.
Ambassador Eddy Pratomo himself, when asked about his nomination, said that the representation of Indonesia's view as the largest archipelago in the world and a very wide sea, is important to be conveyed in ITLOS.
Professor Eddy explained, Indonesia is a large country in the maritime sector, with two-thirds of its territory being the sea, and has the principle of an island nation.
He explained, Indonesia's position in the border line negotiations with neighboring countries, seeks to withdraw the line using archipelagic baselines. Unlike non-archipelago countries.
"The representation of Indonesian views, in my opinion, needs to contribute this thinking to ITLOS," he explained in a press statement at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, Friday, May 9 evening.
He explained, Indonesia wants to contribute to the creation of an advisory opinion (on international maritime law).
He said that although ITLOS is relatively less well-known than the International Court of Justice (ICJ), it handles about 30 cases of disputes between countries. Later, ITLOS has a correlation with the current situation. Last year, ITLOS delivered an advisory opinion on climate change, sea level rise.
According to him, ITLOS must become a think-tank in the field of maritime legal problems. All negotiations, all maritime affairs, already have their constitution.
"The Basic Law at ITLOS is UNCLOS (1982), we are a party to UNCLOS and we are an island country, we have a special chapter, Chapter IV in UNCLOS on island countries," he said.
He added that if elected, he will later represent the Asia Pacific region which has about 4-5 judges in ITLOS. There are a total of 21 judges from around the world, including Latin America, Europe, America, Africa and Asia Pacific.
"His dedication, thoughts, and contributions to diplomacy, international law, and maritime issues will always be remembered and an inspiration," tweeted the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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