REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- An Indonesian president must deliver his speech at any international forum in the Indonesian language as per the law, a professor of international law said.

"Article 28 (of law number 24 of 2009 regarding national flag, language, state symbol and national anthem) stipulates that at international fora, the president must speak in Indonesian," Professor Hikmahanto Juwana of the University of Indonesia stated in a short text message on Monday.

When somebody is inaugurated as the Indonesian president, s/he must take an oath to implement the country's constitution and laws in the best possible ways, Juwana added. If a president did not use Indonesian at an international forum, s/he should be considered to have violated the law, he noted.

"If the Indonesian president himself violates the law, what do we expect from people?" he remarked.

There is no justification for the president to not speak in Indonesian at an international forum, the professor reiterated.

Moreover, article 53 of the UN General Assembly's code of conduct stipulates that any leader can use the language of their country at international fora, but it must be translated into one of the formal foreign languages accepted by the international body, according to Juwana.

In fact, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono often violated the law as he used a foreign language to deliver his speeches at international fora, he stated.

"Yes, (Mr. Yudhoyono) violated the law," he said.

Professor Juwana urged President Joko Widodo to not repeat the mistake of his predecessor. He added that the foreign minister should study the law carefully so that the president does not violate it by speaking in a foreign language at international fora.

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