By: Dewi Ayu Lestari
Indonesia as a legal state based on Pancasila, requires a national legal system that is harmonious, synergistic, comprehensive, and dynamic, through legal development efforts. One of the legal development processes being implemented by the Government, especially in the field of criminal law, is to revise the Criminal Code.
The Draft Law on the Criminal Code (RUU KUHP) has been drafted for more than 50 years and has involved criminal law experts in its journey. The RKUHP is one of the government’s efforts to develop a national criminal law recode system which aims to replace the old Criminal Code as a legal product of the Dutch East Indies colonial era. Since independence, the KUHP of Dutch colonial heritage (Wetboek van Strafrecht voor Nederlandsch Indie) has developed massively.
This development is closely related to pure criminal law and administrative criminal law, especially regarding the 3 (three) main problems in criminal law as stated by Packer in The Limits of the Criminal Sanctions, namely the formulation of prohibited acts ( criminal act ), the formulation of criminal liability (criminal act), criminal responsibility ), and the formulation of sanctions in the form of punishment ( punishment ) and action ( treatment ) resulting in the decodification of the criminal law which caused several provisions in the Criminal Code to be issued into separate laws.
There are two interesting things contained in the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP). These two things are the principles of certainty and justice. According to the Expert Staff of the Minister of Law and Human Rights for Inter-Institutional Relations, Dhahana Putra, the reason he supports the immediate ratification of the RKUHP is because the RKUHP contains principles of justice that have not been enshrined in the current Criminal Code. Dhahana is of the opinion that when there is a case (case), even though it is in the norm and in the article but does not show justice, the judge prioritizes the values of justice.
The RKUHP is considered by Dhahana to be in line with the concept of coaching in the correctional system. Correctional facilities provide space for the perpetrator to improve himself, provide a responsibility, as well as increase his knowledge or skills so that he can be useful in society in the future.
The RKUHP was prepared by considering three things, namely open re-codification, democratization, and modernization. In the open re-codification, the Criminal Code underwent changes because its philosophical conditions were no longer in accordance with Pancasila, sociologically and juridically. The second is democratization. At the time of Indonesia’s independence, democracy became a main pillar, so that too must be adjusted to the criminal law. Next is modernization. Because this is a colonial legacy, we want to create a legal system that is in accordance with the breath of Indonesia, in accordance with Pancasila, the constitution, adab in Indonesia, legal principles, human rights, and of course harmonization.
Support also came from the Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Indonesia (UI), Karkristuti Harkrisnowo so that the RKUHP was immediately ratified. This is because the current Criminal Code is a product of the Dutch colonial era. In this Criminal Code there are 628 Articles that contain more updates to criminal law in Indonesia. This causes the application of criminal sanctions to be considered not directed at one particular article because every time there is a law, there are also criminal sanctions. Karkristuti assesses that if there is no update, there will be various interpretations and will cause various systems as well. He believes that the RKUHP has a high enough urgency to be ratified immediately in order to improve the existing system. This professor of Criminal Law said that the difference between the RKUHP and the current Criminal Code can only be felt by legal experts. While ordinary people only know that the RKUHP changes the articles on insulting the president, adultery, and others. Even so, Harkristuti admits that the RKUHP is not perfect because it is man-made. Therefore, dialogue and communication with the community is opened.
In response to this, the Head of PBNU for Religious Affairs, KH. Ahmad Fahrur Rozi, said that his party also supports that the KUHP Bill be ratified immediately. The reason is that the book of the Criminal Code or the Criminal Code, which is currently owned and used to enforce criminal law in Indonesia, is a legacy from the Netherlands which was translated from the Dutch Book of Het Wetboek van Strafrecht. He argues that this book, which is over a hundred years old, is no longer relevant to the times and conditions of Indonesian society. Therefore, renewal and change is a necessity in order to adapt to the current development of Indonesian society. This RKUHP must be able to become a tool to create security and comfort not only for the state or government but also in social life.
In his speech, Gus Fahrur said that for 59 years the formulators and drafters of the RKUHP must have involved experts and legal experts in Indonesia. Of course, the changes to the RKUHP are arranged based on the actual development conditions of the Indonesian people in order to ensure better legal protection. A support from experts who finally came to the fore, not necessarily without a long study. Judging from their description, this RKUHP has adhered to the principles and is considered capable of being a good instrument in the eyes of the law. In addition, the proposed RKUHP is also considered to be closer to the philosophical values of Pancasila and the 10945 Constitution as well as societal norms.