By : Zakaria ) *
It seems that the draft Criminal Law Code (RKUHP) has received various supports from academics so that the draft law can be ratified immediately. Moreover, the RKUHP is currently a draft law that is considered relevant to the times.
A number of academics from various tertiary institutions have provided their views regarding the RKUHP. Professor of Criminal Law at Sebelas Maret University, Prof. Dr. Supanto, SH., M.Hum presented his views on the Public Discussion Forum with the theme ‘Socialization of RKUHP’ which was held by the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemkominfo) in collaboration with Sebelas Maret University (UNS), Surakarta, Central Java.
Supanto said, legal translations originating from the Netherlands still vary, so that sometimes there are differences in understanding when understanding Dutch. It turns out that legal politics in Indonesia has made codification since 1963 which called for the draft codification of national criminal law to be completed as quickly as possible.
On the same occasion, Academician from the University of Indonesia, Dr. Surastini Fitriasih, SH., MH., who was also the speaker at the event, explained that the RKUHP, which has gone through a long journey by receiving various inputs, needs to be ratified immediately.
Surastini said, if you look at the process of forming the National Criminal Code Bill, it was indeed quite long. Various inputs have been attempted to be considered. Even though it’s not perfect, Indonesia still needs a Criminal Code designed by the nation itself that is in accordance with Indonesian values. Therefore, the Indonesian draft Criminal Code needs to be supported so that it can be ratified immediately.
Apart from that, Dr. Yovita Arie Mangesti, SH., MH., as Chair of the University of 17 August 1945 Law Doctoral Study Program explained that the RKUHP draft continued to undergo various changes. This needs to be seen as a form of adaptive and responsive to community needs. So that the draft produced on November 9 could become the final draft of the RKUHP to be ratified soon.
Yovita revealed that the RKUHP had been prepared based on the principle of balance extracted from the wisdom values of the Indonesian nation which was one of the advantages of the RKUHP.
Based on the crucial issues in the RKUHP, it can be seen that the RKUHP sufficiently captures the factual situation that exists in society.
Meanwhile, Professor of Semarang State University (UNNES), Prof. Dr. Benny R iyanto, SH., M.Hum in socializing the RKUHP in Papua said that the current Criminal Code is a legacy of the Dutch colonial or Wetboek van Strafrecht voor Nederlandsch Indie (WvS) which has been naturalized into Law Number 1 of 1946 concerning Criminal Law Regulations.
Benny emphasized that there was some urgency related to the need to produce a National Criminal Code. Among other things, there has been a paradigm shift from retributive justice to a paradigm of corrective, restorative and rehabilitative justice.
Apart from that, the written law is also always left behind from the facts of the incident, the WvS Criminal Code is more than 100 years old so that the development of society and its legal needs must have shifted. The WvS Criminal Code also does not yet reflect the nation’s cultural values, let alone the basic state philosophy of Pancasila.
The birth of the National Criminal Code is also a manifestation of reform of the national criminal law system as a whole. This is an opportunity to create a comprehensive national criminal law system based on Pancasila values, national culture, and universal human rights.
So far, socialization of the RKUHP has been routinely carried out with the aim of educating the public.
Director of Political Information and Communication Law and Security at the Directorate General of Public Information and Communication, Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Bambang Gunawan, said that this was the government’s effort to revise and compile a national criminal law recodification system that aims to replace the old Criminal Code as a legal product of the colonial era. The Dutch East Indies needed to be carried out immediately, so that it was in accordance with the dynamics that existed in society.
He hopes that the socialization of the Criminal Code Bill can be a means of dissemination of discussions related to the adjustment of the Criminal Code Bill to all elements of the public at large.
The RKUHP is a product for everyone, so that all Indonesian people can participate in providing input, aspirations and have a correct understanding of the intent and substance of the revision of the RKUHP.
Previously, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had given orders to his staff to intensify discussions with the public regarding the RKUHP. This discussion is expected to provide understanding as well as gather input from the community.
Efforts to ratify the RKUHP of course require support from many parties, apart from that President Jokowi is also open to various inputs from the public, so it is important that the RKUHP is socialized to the wider community so that later there will be many who study and support the ratification of the RKUHP.
)* Writer is contributor Persada Institute