By : Putri Dewi Nathania )*
The entire long process of forming the National Criminal Code is a testament to the seriousness of the Government together with the Indonesian Parliament and the entire Drafting Team. This also indicates that the preparation of the original legal system made by the nation’s children was not at all rushed.
The President of the Republic of Indonesia (RI), Joko Widodo has officially ratified Law (UU) Number 1 of 2023 concerning the National Criminal Code (KUHP). The existence of this regulation is also the first legal product to be inaugurated by the President in 2023.
As contained on page 229 of the copy of the National Criminal Code document, it is written that the law was ratified in Jakarta on Monday, January 2, 2023 by President Jokowi and the law was also promulgated in the capital city of Jakarta by the Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg), Pratikno on the same day. same.
It should be noted that the National Criminal Code contains as many as 624 articles, which are also able to replace the existence of the old Criminal Code from the Dutch colonial era which has long been applied in Indonesia. Apart from that, the original legal system made by the nation’s children has also used codification capital in a number of other laws.
In Article 623 (Chapter XXXVII regarding closing provisions), RI Law Number 1 of 2023 is referred to as the Criminal Code. Then in the same chapter in Article 624 it is also explained about the time when the National Criminal Code will come into force, which will come into force officially and comprehensively in the country after 3 (three) years from the first time it was promulgated by the House of Representatives (DPR RI) in December 2022 then, it means that the National Criminal Code will come into effect in 2025.
As is well known, the existence of the old Dutch-made Criminal Code has even existed since more than 100 years ago, so in fact the founding fathers of this nation have started to think about how to replace this colonial-style legal product as soon as possible.
Therefore, the discussion on the National Criminal Code itself has also been carried out in a long and lengthy process. In this regard, Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights (Wamenkumham), Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej firmly dismissed all issues that had previously stated that it seemed as if the ratification of the Draft Criminal Code Bill (RUU KUHP) was carried out in a hurry. -hurry up.
Edward said that the process of ratifying the Criminal Code Bill, which has now officially become the National Criminal Code, took a long time. How could it not be, because if you only look at President Joko Widodo’s leadership period, discussions on the National Criminal Code have been carried out from 2015 to 2022, which has taken seven years.
Then, looking back at the time, the Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights continued that the struggle for the Indonesian people to have their own legal system had been going on for 59 years. Not only that, but according to him, the draft Criminal Code Bill which is now the National Criminal Code itself has also undergone many changes, even up to more than 30 drafts. This indicates that indeed there have been many consideration processes and the Government is very accommodating to the interests of all elements of the people of the country.
The man who is familiarly called Eddy added that there were many drafts in the discussion of the National Criminal Code because the discussions carried out by the entire Formulation Team were very dynamic and tried to really keep abreast of the current situation and conditions in Indonesia, including international conditions.
He also emphasized that with the dynamics of the discussion regarding the National Criminal Code, this means that it is also strong evidence that the Government and DPR RI have not turned a deaf ear to all inputs proposed by all Indonesian people.
For your information, the Criminal Code, which is currently still used by law enforcement officials in Indonesia in conducting court proceedings against defendants, originated from the French Penal Code in 1810. Then in 1886, the French Criminal Code was transformed into Wetboek van Strafrecht and entered the country in 1915, then came into effect three years later, namely in 1918.
During these 105 years, criminal law experts in the country have not been silent at all. In 1963, they held a national law seminar with the aim of immediately revising the Dutch product Criminal Code.
So that it can be said that all the processes from the beginning until now the National Criminal Code has been legalized by President Jokowi to become Law Number 1 of 2023 is by no means a hasty legal product. Because the long process of making it itself has been going on for a long time and there have been many changes to the draft indicating that the government continues to accommodate the voices and interests of the people.
)* The author is a contributor to the Perkasa Media Institute
