Santy Kouwagam is a researcher at the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society. Her research examines the intersection of legal, religious, and cultural norms in social security systems and care structures for aging populations. Focusing on legally plural contexts, she explores how these norms shape access to justice, social inclusion, and state responsibilities.

Trained as both a scholar and practitioner, Santy brings deep expertise in Indonesian law and a comparative perspective spanning English, German, French, American, and Singaporean legal systems. She is especially interested in how legal systems respond to social vulnerability and shifting patterns of care, and in the role of legal strategy in navigating institutional complexity.

Santy’s teaching experience includes Comparative European Tort Law and Principles of European Contract Law (University of Amsterdam), and Principles of Private Law (University College Roosevelt). Her pedagogy integrates comparative theory with real-world legal insight, informed by her earlier career in private practice.

Prior to her academic career, Santy practiced at a top-tier commercial law firm in Jakarta, advising on cross-border disputes and transactions. She holds a law degree from Universitas Hasanuddin (Indonesia) and an LL.M. (cum laude) in International and Comparative Law from the University of Pittsburgh. In the U.S., she was certified by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to provide legal services and represented indigent clients at the Family Law Clinic. She also volunteered with the Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender and a nonprofit supporting refugees and asylum seekers.

In 2019, she founded Stichting Socio-Legal Consulting, a nonprofit that provides legal assistance in family, inheritance, and housing matters for clients with ties to Indonesia.

Across her work, Santy is committed to linking academic research with practice, and to advancing inclusive, context-sensitive approaches to law and justice in plural and transnational environments.

Activities