By : Putri Ganeswari )*
Legal experts support the ratification of the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP). The support from these legal experts is very meaningful because they understand the importance of amending the Criminal Code, so that the legal system in Indonesia runs well.
The Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP) is fully supported by various elements of society, including legal experts. They want the ratification of this bill as soon as possible, because the current Criminal Code is very ancient, and is a law inherited from the colonial era. It is hoped that with the new version of the Criminal Code, the criminal law order in this country will be more perfect.
Chairman of the DPP AAI (Association of Indonesian Advocates) Ranto Simanjuntak, stated that the DPP AAI will build synergy with law enforcement. The goal is to immediately ratify the RKUHP into a law that answers the challenges of the times.
If the old version of the Criminal Code was made more than 77 years ago (due to absorption from the law during the Dutch colonial period), then the new Criminal Code will answer the challenges of the times. There are articles that follow the information technology era. Among them are articles regarding the prohibition of insulting state symbols on social media.
In a sense, the president and his deputy, indeed should not be insulted. Humiliation on social media has been very outrageous. Where technology is misused and used to create memes that insult the head of state. Even though he must be guarded his honor, and should not be insulted in such a form.
DPP AAI also urges that the RKUHP be ratified immediately because it can reduce criminal acts in the community. Law in the country will also follow the development of an all-digital era, when there is a new version of the Criminal Code. In addition, it will also produce advocates who are technology literate.
Currently, advocates must be technology literate, because they keep up with the times. Besides having a smartphone, they are also required to update about the dynamics of the Indonesian people who are the most internet users in the world. Where the virtual world is misused to upload photos or news freely.
Such freedom is certainly misguided and must be regulated, because Indonesia is a democratic country, not a liberal one. Advocates are required to understand what laws regulate cyberspace. These include the RKUHP and the ITE Law.
Meanwhile, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Indonesia, Professor Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, stated that the RKUHP must be ratified immediately. The reason is because Indonesia must have its own Criminal Code. In a sense, the new version of the Criminal Code made by Indonesian legal experts is definitely more accurate than the old version.
The old version of the Criminal Code which was absorbed from the Dutch colonial law in the pre-independence period, of course, is no longer relevant today. In addition, if the law was made by the colonialists, it would not be good to apply it. The reason is because the suspect was arrested and imprisoned, and got revenge in it from the invaders.
Yet today, prisons are not like that. Prisons have the intention that criminals understand their mistakes and do not repeat them, aka not become recidivist. With the guidance and rehabilitation of prison administrators, a criminal can repent and become a law-abiding Indonesian citizen.
Professor Harkristuti continued, in each law there are criminal sanctions. This must be straightened out because there must be a new version of the Criminal Code as the only criminal law. In a sense, there will be no various interpretations and punishments, because all of them refer to the RKUHP which will be ratified as a new version of the Criminal Code.
The various interpretations are certainly terrible because they can make a suspect get a sentence that is too light, or even too heavy. Therefore, bad things like this must be eliminated. All law enforcers must be guided by the new version of the Criminal Code, therefore the RKUHP must be ratified immediately.
Legal expert Professor Moh. Taufik Makrano stated that the ratification of the RKUHP must be carried out immediately. If it is legalized then Indonesia will be free from Dutch law, which has been used for centuries. Currently, Indonesia is not yet constitutionally independent (because it uses colonial-era legacy laws). Therefore he supports the RKUHP because it is a law made by Indonesians.
In a sense, the law for Indonesians must be made by Indonesians. This is because Indonesians understand the situation on the ground, their culture, the social and economic conditions of their people, etc. In this way, the law will be in accordance with the conditions of the pluralistic Indonesian society, and prevent them from becoming victims of criminal crimes.
The RKUHP must be passed quickly and legal experts support the bill. First, the old Criminal Code is a law made by the colonialists, so you can say that Indonesia is not yet constitutionally independent. However, when the RKUHP is passed, the constitution will be independent. Second, the RKUHP will protect the public from immoral acts and criminal crimes.
)* Author is a contributor
