By: Rizal Arifin )*
The new Criminal Code has been officially ratified by the government and DPR RI to become law. With the ratification of the Criminal Code, Indonesia finally has a generalist criminal law regulation that was designed by itself after being declared independent since 1945.
The old Criminal Code is a legacy from the Dutch East Indies era. Along with the development of technology, knowledge, culture, and social order, the old Criminal Code is seen as irrelevant, especially for the spirit of criminal law enforcement in Indonesia. This is in line with what was said by the Dean of USU’s Faculty of Law, Dr. Mahmul Siregar, SH M.Hum who said that for a long time our people have longed for a basis or concept of national law that is in line with developments, no longer a Dutch colonial legacy.
In an outreach event held by the Indonesian Criminal Law and Criminology Society (Mahupiki) of North Sumatra regarding the new Criminal Code, it was explained that historically a new Criminal Code had to exist since Indonesia declared independence. The Transitional Rules of Article II of the 1945 Constitution which was ratified on August 18, 1945 stated that laws and institutions left by the colonial government were still valid as long as new laws and institutions had not been formed.
Still in the socialization event held in the city of Medan, it was explained that the new Criminal Code which displaces the Criminal Code inherited from the Dutch colonial will experience a 3-year transition period and become effective in 2025. The Criminal Code Bill, which was passed towards the end of 2022, was initiated in 1958 and has been discussed in the DPR since 1963.
The ratification of the new Criminal Code is a comprehensive step because the new Criminal Code will be based on values and culture that exist in Indonesia. For this reason, Diponegoro University Professor of Criminal Law, Prof. Dr. Pujiyono, SH. M.Hum., explained the urgency of drafting the Criminal Code so that it conforms to the values inherent in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. He explained this in the socialization event for the new Criminal Code held by the North Sumatra MAHUPIKI.
In this way of socialization, Professor of the Faculty of Law, Diponegoro University, Prof. Dr. Pujiyono SH M.Hum, who was present as a guest speaker said that several aspects that form the basis of the new or national Criminal Code are that in the colonial legacy Criminal Code there is no separation of individual and cluster aspects; not yet oriented towards people or modern schools; no chapter of guilt or criminal liability; the victim has not got a place or is oriented only to the perpetrator; and fines or alternative sanctions are very small or very light because they were valuable in the colonial period.
Still in the outreach event, Prof. Pujiyono explained that in the new Criminal Code concept the victim has a strategic position where the victim gets more space in determining the settlement process. Prof. Pujiyono also explained that the orientation of the New Criminal Code lies in the protection of children, victims and perpetrators.
The author strongly agrees with Prof Pujiyono’s statement, that the new Criminal Code is a reflection of the noble values that exist in Indonesia. The ratification of the nation’s new Criminal Code is a breath of fresh air for the Indonesian nation because the new Criminal Code is a hope amidst the uncertainty of law enforcement in Indonesia.
The new Criminal Code certainly provides fresh air for criminal law enforcement in Indonesia. Because the drafting of a new Criminal Code is a long discourse to become a National Criminal Code. Therefore, the author agrees with the statement from the Head of Mahupiki North Sumatra, Dr. Rizkan Zulyadi who said that the new Criminal Code is a legal product of the nation’s children which has a positive impact on criminal law enforcement in Indonesia.
During the socialization of the Criminal Code in Medan, Prof. Marcus said that criminal law in essence always reduces a person’s freedom, therefore the potential for differences of opinion over a formulation of an offense in the new Criminal Code is a natural thing and needs to be harmonized with socialization.
The UGM Professor of Criminal Law also said that the reaction that would arise in the ratification of the new Criminal Code would definitely appear and this was something that was fairly normal. In principle, although not perfect, Prof. Marcus welcomed the arrival of the new Criminal Code. He appreciated efforts to balance public and individual interests, human rights and basic obligations, victims and perpetrators of crimes and others. Inside the criminal has a goal, the goal is to protect or foster individuals. Crime is also to provide protection for the public interest or society.
The author also got something interesting from another source who was an academic at the University of Indonesia, Dr. Surastini Fitriasih, SH., MH. He said that the nation’s new Criminal Code is the work of a long and not easy legal dialectic process, even so the nation’s new Criminal Code is expected to become a benchmark for criminal law that conforms to Indonesian values.
The conclusions that the authors can draw from the socialization of the New Criminal Code include that the newly ratified Criminal Code is a national product that has been discussed for a long time. In fact, the discussion of the Criminal Code on the Criminal Code has involved many experts and practitioners of homeland law. Thus, it is fitting for us as Indonesians to be proud of and appreciate the new Criminal Code by understanding the substance of these legal rules.
)* The author is an activist of the Bhinneka Legal Institution
