MAHUPIKI DEGREE SOCIALIZATION OF KUHP, PROFESSOR OF UGM: PRIVATE LEGAL JUSTICE IN INDONESIA
Medan – The new national Criminal Code (KUHP) was ratified by the Indonesian Parliament in 2022 and is considered progress and capable of providing alternative legal sanctions.
Related to this, Prof. Marcus Priyo Gunarto considers that the new Criminal Code (KUHP) prioritizes legal justice in Indonesia so that it does not only provide firmness. One of them is the existence of alternative sanctions for perpetrators of criminal offenses.
“The advantage of the new Criminal Code is that there are alternative sanctions. Prison sentences can be replaced with fines, fines can be replaced with supervision or social work,” said Prof. Marcus at the Grand Mercure Hotel Medan, North Sumatra, Monday (9/1/2023).
He also gave an example in that the old Criminal Code mostly emphasized the type of crime for deprivation of liberty while in the context of the National Criminal Code or the new Criminal Code it was given the possibility that if a judge imposed a sentence of less than 5 or 3 years, he could choose a fine, social work or supervision punishment.
According to him, the existence of this paradigm shift can affect the Indonesian judiciary in the future. This is very constitutional because in the 1945 Constitution article 28 letter d there is a phrase that every citizen must obtain substantive legal certainty. Every citizen must obtain fair legal certainty, not only from laws. Justice must be prioritized.
On the same occasion, University of Indonesia legal expert Prof. Surattini said that there were still a number of articles which were crucial issues and needed discussion to make them clearer. For this reason, the government will be serious about perfecting the new Criminal Code to suit and reflect the noble values of the nation.
There are at least 14 crucial issues in the new Criminal Code including: Living Law (law that lives in society), capital punishment, insulting the President or Vice President, crimes against religion, belief and religious life or beliefs, criminal acts of animal abuse, criminal acts of abortion to adultery and adultery, cohabitation and marital rape.
Meanwhile, Professor of Criminal Law, Faculty of Law, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Prof. Dr. Pujiyono, SH. M.Hum., explained the urgency of drafting the Criminal Code so that it conforms to the values inherent in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
“The mission so that the existing Criminal Code is immediately replaced, is a decolonization mission, namely releasing the concept of ideas reflected in the Criminal Code which is colored by colonialization ideas. Then the idea of synchronization, modernization, and actualization of our value system. Our criminal law must be made in accordance with global developments and science,” explained Pujiono.
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 national criminal law system based on Pancasila values, national culture, and universal human rights.
The new Criminal Code which displaces the Dutch colonial heritage Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht voor Nederlandsch Indie) will undergo a three-year transition period and become effective in 2025.
So far, socialization of the new Criminal Code has been routinely carried out with the aim of educating the public. three years is enough time for the government to conduct outreach and training for law enforcers and stakeholders.
