Manokwari – In order to develop a deeper understanding regarding the ratified Criminal Code, the Indonesian Criminal Law and Criminology Society (MAHUPIKI) continued socialization activities on the new Criminal Code (KUHP) at the Swissbel Manokwari Hotel, Wednesday (8/2/2023). The activity was attended by local regional officials, legal experts, academics, and other elements of society.
The socialization of the Criminal Code in Manokwari was also attended by Professor of the Faculty of Law, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Prof. Dr. Pujiono SH, M.Hum, Professor of Law from Padjadjaran University (Unpad) Bandung, Professor Romli Atmasasmita, and Professor of Criminal Law, University of Jember (Unej) , Prof. Arief Amrullah as a guest speaker.
Prof. Romli Atmasasmita said that the formation of the national Criminal Code had been implemented for a long time. In fact, according to him, the Government has carried out a series of discussions and coordination with cross-agency Ministries/Institutions including involving academics, practitioners or legal experts, and elements of society.
“Public participation is an important role because it has several points such as the right to be heard, the right to be explained, and the right to be considered,” said Prof. Romli Atmasasmita.
On the same occasion, Prof. Arief Amrullah considered that the national Criminal Code was compiled by Indonesia’s best legal experts. In addition, this ratification also shows that Indonesia has been free from colonial nuances.
“Politically, if Indonesia still uses the Criminal Code (WvS), it means that Indonesia is still a Dutch colony. Meanwhile, sociologically, the Criminal Code (WvS) is not based on the context of the Indonesian nation itself,” said Prof. Arief.
Furthermore, Prof. Arief revealed that the National Criminal Code Discussion Team had also received a lot of input from various elements of society through public hearings. According to him, this is one of the efforts to fulfill public participation in Article 96 of Law 12/2011 concerning the formation of Legislation.
Meanwhile, Prof Dr Pujiyono SH M Hum said there were a number of actual issues in the national Criminal Code. A number of these issues include living law or customary law which can be used as the basis for the formation of regional regulations (Perda).
“The applicable customary criminal law (delik adat) is based on empirical research and will form the basis for the establishment of regional regulations.” he said
Furthermore, Prof. Pujiyono explained that in the national Criminal Code regarding adultery and cohabitation, the authority to complain is now expanded, namely husband or wife for those who are married and parents or children for those who are not married.
“The protection of the public’s private space is carried out by regulating it as an absolute complaint offense, which means that there is no legal process without a valid complaint,” added Prof. Pujiyono.
Socialization closed with discussion and question and answer. With this socialization, it is hoped that it can align perceptions so that there is no miscommunication and public misinformation regarding the full understanding of the substance of the articles regulated in the Criminal Code.
