VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) of the Republic of Indonesia together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) of the Republic of Indonesia held a socialization of the Criminal Code (KUHP) which had just been ratified by the Republic of Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR).

"The first is that after 77 years of Indonesia's independence, Indonesia finally has a national Criminal Code," said Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights (Wamenkumham) Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej in a press conference, Monday (12/12) at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building, in Jakarta.

Edward Omar said that the reform of the Criminal Code had been initiated since 1963, and would be effective 3 years after it was promulgated.

"Secondly, the Criminal Code has been prepared carefully and carefully. What takes into consideration is the balance between individual interests, state interests and community interests, and takes into account the condition of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multicultural nation," he continued.

The third thing that was conveyed, as a democratic country, the Indonesian Criminal Code was also prepared through a long process of public consultation in order to obtain input from the public through meaningful participation. Apart from that, according to him, the Criminal Code is also humane. He gave an example by ending the pros and cons regarding the death penalty.

"In the Criminal Code, death penalty is a special nature which is always threatened alternatively, namely with a probationary period of 10 years so that with a measured and objective assessment the death penalty can be changed to life imprisonment by presidential decree or temporary imprisonment with a maximum period of 20 years," he explained.

On the same occasion, he also explained the articles related to adultery and cohabitation. According to him, these two articles were applied based on an absolute complaint offense. He said only the husband or wife for those who are bound by marriage, or parents or children for those who are not bound by marriage who can make complaints.

"Other parties cannot report, let alone take the law into their own hands. So there will be no legal process without complaints from parties who are entitled and directly harmed, and there are no administrative requirements to ask about the marital status of the public and tourists," he said.

Regarding regulations related to alcoholic beverages, Edward Omar said these regulations had existed in the old Criminal Code and had never been annulled by the Constitutional Court. According to him, the new Criminal Code only adopts regulations related to alcoholic beverages from the existing old Criminal Code.

"The seventh is about the issue of freedom of expression," he continued.

Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights explained that the Criminal Code has clearly distinguished between criticism and insult. According to him, criticism cannot be punished because it is done in the public interest, while insulting in any country, including heads of state and state institutions, is a disgraceful act.

"However, the Criminal Code regulates it as a complaint offense so that the public, including sympathizers and volunteers, cannot report except to the president or vice president and heads of state institutions," he explained.

Meanwhile regarding press freedom, Edward Omar said "criticism is a form of oversight of corrections and suggestions on matters relating to the public interest so that it is clear that they cannot be criminalized."

The Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights also touched on the regulation of serious crimes against human rights.

"The regulations adopted in the Criminal Code are only two core crimes, namely genocide and crimes against humanity, whose sanctions are adapted to the modified Delphi method. there is an expiration and retroactive entry into force," he said.

Furthermore, Edward Omar also stated that the provisions of the Criminal Code do not discriminate against women, children and other minority groups, including religions and beliefs.

"This is because all relevant provisions originating from the previous Criminal Code have been reformulated wherever possible by taking into account universally applicable legal principles, for example The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," he said.

Edward Omar explained that during the 3-year transitional period, the national Criminal Code was effective. According to him, so that there are no mistakes in interpreting the articles in the Criminal Code, the government will continue to socialize the substance of the Criminal Code to the whole community, especially to law enforcement officials and prepare various implementing regulations from the Criminal Code so as to minimize the abuse of authority by law enforcement officials.

"The substance of the Criminal Code has been oriented towards the paradigm of modern criminal law which no longer emphasizes retaliation but rather corrective justice, restorative justice and rehabilitative justice.

He said corrective justice is related to deterring perpetrators, while restorative justice is more focused on recovering victims. While rehabilitative justice is in the context of improving victims and perpetrators.

"The new Criminal Code also regulates alternative sanctions other than imprisonment, namely fines, supervision, and social work. As well as the formulation of criminal acts in a clear, strict manner, with sufficient explanation to avoid multiple interpretations for the sake of legal certainty that prioritizes justice and expediency," he said.

He also said, considering that the Criminal Code will take effect within the next 3 years, it should not interfere with the interests of the public, business actors, tourists and foreign investors.

"As long as law enforcement is in accordance with the objectives of reforming criminal law through the Criminal Code as the most honest reflection of the legal civilization of the Indonesian nation," he concluded. (VOI/Andy)