Indonesia is known as a state of law , which means that the existence of a legal system is very crucial because it will affect all aspects of social, national and state life, including the course of government that must be adjusted to the applicable law .
The public wonders the urgency behind this Draft Criminal Code ( RKUHP ). Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Human Rights (Menkopolhukam), Mahfud MD explained that according to philosophy, sociology, and legal-political science , law is a servant of the community where the law applies. That is, where there is a community, there is a law that is in accordance with the ideology, views, and legal awareness in the community so that it must contain content that is in accordance with current life. In other words, if society changes, the law must also change to suit the needs and awareness of the lawthe community it serves.
Mahfud MD’s statement is certainly supported in the transitional rule of Article 2 of the 1945 Constitution which states that all colonial institutions and regulations that are still in effect will remain valid as long as new ones have not been formed. This means that when Indonesia became independent in 1945, there was an order that the laws that had been in effect since the Dutch colonial era could be immediately replaced with new laws .
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The legal system that is enforced must be harmonious, synergistic, comprehensive, and dynamic. Therefore, at this time the government continues to strive to achieve the goal of justice by revising the Criminal Code (KUHP) during the Dutch colonial era.https://8922c931a8c5709a52587a755b7d8573.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-39/html/container.html
Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights (Wamenkumham), Edward Omar Sharif said that the RKUHP is the government’s effort to develop a national criminal law recode system that aims to achieve justice for all Indonesian people.
In addition to the re-codification which includes the consolidation and synchronization of criminal law regulations, the RKUHP is also directed as an effort to harmonization by developing a universal criminal law . This harmonization effort is oriented towards actions that pay attention to aspects of the actions, perpetrators, and victims of crime.
The existence of the RKUHP is expected to produce a national criminal law that puts forward the modern paradigm and the justice paradigm . The modern paradigm in question is that there is no longer criminal law based on retributive justice but rather oriented towards corrective, restorative and rehabilitative justice . In order to achieve equitable justice for all elements of society, the article is a legal paradigm that is oriented towards retributive justice , of course, it will be very difficult to apply if enforced in modern times.
Meanwhile, the justice paradigm includes the principles of corrective justice for perpetrators, restorative justice for victims, and rehabilitative justice for perpetrators or victims. In other words, the RKUHP not only punishes the perpetrators, but also seeks to improve them. Likewise with victims, they will be rehabilitated with experts who are experts in their fields so that they can recover optimally.
To achieve the realization of justice for Indonesian citizens, the government continues to open up discussion spaces with various parties to gather all criticisms and inputs and equalize perceptions so that the process of forming the RKUHP can be carried out transparently because it involves the community.
The Dean of the Faculty of Law, Diponegoro University (Undip) Semarang, Prof. Dr. Retno Saraswati argued when opening a public lecture at the Faculty of Law Undip that the existence of the RKUHP was a very extraordinary development of criminal law to achieve substantial or real justice for the people of Indonesia.
Furthermore, Retno Saraswati appreciated the government’s steps, especially the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) which consistently held outreach activities in various regions so that the public could understand the RKUHP and even provide constructive input.
On the same occasion, Retno Saraswati also prayed that the RKUHP could be ratified as soon as possible as a step in realizing legal development which has been part of the legacy of the Dutch colonial government. Retno wants this RKUHP to be created by the nation’s children to promote a just Indonesian criminal law .
In addition, Retno hopes that the RKUHP is able to produce law enforcement that is in accordance with the souls of the Indonesian people based on Pancasila, especially the 5th principle which reads social justice for all Indonesian people.
In realizing the ratification of the RKUHP , the Dean of the Faculty of Law Undip, Retno Saraswati requested that the socialization activities of the RKUHP not only be carried out by the government but also by academics, especially criminal law lecturers . Academics must also ensure that the articles in the RKUHP are well understood by the public.