Kontroversi Ijazah Joko Widodo: Antara Tuduhan Palsu dan Fakta Hukum yang Terverifikasi

This study explores the controversy surrounding the authenticity of President Joko Widodo's academic diploma, which has been alleged to be falsified by certain parties despite substantial legal and administrative evidence confirming its validity. The research aims to systematically analyze the legitimacy of the forgery accusations from the perspectives of criminal law, administrative law, and legitimacy theory within a constitutional democratic framework. A qualitative descriptive method is employed, based on phenomenological observation and normative-doctrinal approaches to statutory regulations, court decisions, and official institutional statements. Universitas Gadjah Mada has officially declared that President Joko Widodo is a legitimate graduate of the Faculty of Forestry, class of 1985, a claim further substantiated by the ruling of the Jakarta Administrative Court, which rejected a lawsuit challenging the authenticity of the diploma. From a criminal law standpoint, the elements of document forgery as stipulated in Article 263 of the Indonesian Penal Code (KUHP) are not fulfilled. Theoretically, the authenticity of the document is also supported by the presumption of regularity principle in administrative law, as well as Max Weber's rational-legal legitimacy theory. The study concludes that the fake diploma issue is legally unfounded and more politically motivated than juridically substantiated.