Jakarta – The government has confirmed that the new Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), which will come into effect on January 2, 2026, will bring important changes towards a more transparent and accountable justice system.
Deputy Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections (Wamenko Kumham Imipas), Prof. Otto Hasibuan, said that the public must understand the new regulations because they apply the principle of legal fiction.
“There’s a legal fiction, so people can’t say, ‘I don’t know the law. It can’t apply to me, it can’t,'” he said.
According to him, public and legal profession understanding needs to be continuously improved because the new Criminal Procedure Code contains many modern provisions that have not been fully studied.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Habiburokhman, clarified the issue that the new Criminal Procedure Code contains loopholes for abuse, particularly in the urgent circumstances clause.
He emphasized that this provision is not new and has long existed in the old Criminal Procedure Code.
“This (urgent situation) is actually exactly the same as the provisions in the old Criminal Procedure Code. So, why are there now demands to reject the ratification of the new Criminal Procedure Code?” he said.
Habib explained that urgency is necessary when investigators encounter administrative obstacles, for example, difficulty accessing the head of the district court, so that swift action must be taken with the obligation to request approval within a maximum of five working days.
Habib also emphasized that actions in urgent circumstances can still be tested through pre-trial so that there is no room for investigators to act arbitrarily.
“If it doesn’t meet the urgent circumstances, it will be cancelled. So citizens still have the right to challenge this,” he said.
In the new Criminal Procedure Code, sanctions for investigators are also strengthened through Article 27, allowing for the imposition of administrative, ethical, and even criminal sanctions for abuse of authority. This regulation is described as a revolutionary step not found in the old Criminal Procedure Code.
Meanwhile, the General Chairperson of the Indonesian Advocates Association (Peradi SAI), Harry Ponto, assessed the new Criminal Procedure Code as a step forward to ensure that the legal process is more objective, transparent, and free from discrimination.
“This is a step forward to ensure the legal process is objective and transparent,” he said.
The new Criminal Procedure Code will also strengthen the public’s right to receive legal assistance from the investigation stage.
With more detailed regulations and updated oversight mechanisms, the government hopes the new Criminal Procedure Code will provide a more equitable sense of justice and increase public trust in law enforcement institutions.
