By: Panji Saputra )*
The ratification of the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) is very capable of accommodating the legal basis with the paradigm of improving people and not just taking revenge, because the main focus is indeed on collective, restorative and rehabilitative justice.
When attending the Mudzakarah on National Law and Islamic Law at the MUI Building, Central Jakarta, member of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Arsul Sani stated that so far there are three things that have become an important basis for the discussion and determination of the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP). .
The discussion and determination of the RKUHP is because so far Indonesia itself has continued to use the old Criminal Code as its criminal law system, especially regarding sectoral articles, which are a legacy of Dutch colonialism. Therefore, in 2015, the DPR RI again initiated the RKUHP to be able to immediately replace the position of the old Criminal Code.
As discussed by the DPR RI, Arsul Sani admitted that there were three important points. The first is about the politics of penalization law, which is related to the discussion of whether an act can be categorized as a criminal act or not.
One of the things debated in the discussion on the politics of the law of penalization is the spread of the ideologies of Marxism and Communism. The DPR RI continues to discuss whether the spread of this ideology can enter the realm of criminal acts or not with very long considerations.
Then the second point is about the substance of the arrangement. The man who also serves as Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives stated that the discussion related to this substance included Indonesia’s attitude regarding the death penalty. Will Indonesia really follow other democracies by completely abolishing the death penalty or not?
Actually, regarding the death penalty, several friendly countries have given their suggestion that it is better for Indonesia to completely abolish the death penalty. Hearing this, in fact, the government and the DPR RI confirmed that they would still maintain some of the death penalty sentences. Although he emphasized that he would still apply the death penalty for certain cases, Arsul also stated that it was no longer the main crime.
When the death penalty does not become the main crime, it means that its position becomes a special punishment, which the judge can only take alternatively, in the sense that if there is no other way out according to the judge’s decision. The application is that when there is a case in which there is an article regarding the death penalty, the judge will not immediately impose the death penalty but the defendant will first serve a prison sentence of 10 years.
Furthermore, Arsul Sani explained, if in the 10-year prison term in fact the defendant was able to do good, he declared himself to repent and carry out his entire life as an inmate well, then it is not impossible that his sentence would change from the initial death penalty to a punishment. lifetime.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, Eddy Omar Sharif Hiariej as a resource person explained that the formation of the Draft Criminal Code has involved the participation of various parties such as Non-Governmental Organizations, community leaders, religious leaders, traditional/cultural leaders, to experts in the field of law. The involvement of the community is considered to be very important because later this RKUHP will also regulate various aspects of the life of the nation and state. In addition, he firmly denied the issue that seemed to state that the Criminal Code Bill suddenly appeared without going through a procedural process.
Alluding to efforts to decolonize through the ratification of the RKUHP by replacing the old KUHP inherited from the Netherlands, the man who is also a Professor of Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) stated that the RKUHP would later change the paradigm of criminal law, which during the colonial era only served to punish and revenge (retributive).
According to him, the current Criminal Code in Indonesia is a colonial product. Thus, the paradigm used still focuses on individual interests and imprisonment as the main crime as well as the main crime. However, the Criminal Code Bill focuses on collective, restorative and rehabilitative justice. Eddy also touched on the standard of punishment. Where in the current Criminal Code, in terms of sentencing, full authority is given to the judge. In contrast to the RKUHP, fences are given so that judges cannot be arbitrary in deciding a case. In addition, in the RKUHP imprisonment is not the main crime. Judges are obliged to provide lighter penalties such as supervision and social work crimes.
So it is clear that in the RKUHP drafted by the government and the Indonesian House of Representatives, the concept of understanding and change is very much considered, but punishment is by no means a law with a revenge paradigm, but will instead try to improve people.
)* The author is a contributor to the Nusantara Reading Room
