TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) said that the draft Criminal Code (RUU KUHP) has potentially threatened individual freedom and public interest since it mostly governs moral code values. The bill draft, containing 786 articles, was viewed to have controversial articles.
Earlier on June 8, 2015, the government had submitted the draft Criminal Code to the House of Representatives. The draft was thicker than the current Criminal Code that contains 569 articles. ICJR director Supriyadi Widodo Eddyono said that the draft provides state with more power over individuals, as reflected by the articles on insulting the president and vice president and those on insulting general power and state’s institutions.
“The character is similar with subversive articles,” he said.
In addition, Supriyadi added, the draft also contains more articles on moral values, such as the definition of pornography that is more flexible than that provided in the Law on Pornography. In addition, other articles are related to adultery, cohabitation, pregnancy prevention and abortion, as well as rape. Supriyadi said that those articles would lead to over-criminalization.
Emerson Yuntho, coordinator of legal and justice monitoring division at the Indonesia Corruption Watch, urged the government to remove articles on corruption and money laundering because they might overlap the anti-graft commission (KPK), the Corruption Court and the prosecutor’s office.
“If the bill draft was to be passed, it would replace the law on corruption and money laundering and corruption cases could only be investigated by police,” he said.
Miko Susanto Ginting, a researcher at the Center for Legal and Policy Studies, suggested the government with the House to partially amend the bill draft. According to Miko, the draft is intended to integrate all laws on criminal acts, including those governed in specific laws.
MAHARDIKA | DELA FAHRIANA
