Trending : Controversial Indonesian Criminal Code Draft

Last updated on June 18th, 2022 at 02:41 am

Indonesia – Indonesia may be facing another legal crisis as the  controversial draft criminal law is imminent (a complete review of the current criminal law). Deputy Minister of Justice and Human Rights Edward Omar Sharif Heariezi said the  law  should be passed by July this year at the latest, but the date has not been released.

A draft of the new code was released in 2019, with demonstrations nationwide, some of which became violent. 4,444 Indonesians were concerned about  articles ranging from blasphemy to adultery  and were afraid that some of the provisions for minorities would be armed and used to crack down on civil liberties.

The draft has since been updated, but  changes and revisions have not been fully shared. “Indonesia’s draft criminal law reflects the growing influence of Islamism. Many Muslims consider it  the best jewel of what they call Shariah Law,” Human Rights Watch Indonesia. Researcher Andreas Harsono said.

“It will be disastrous not only for women and religious and gender minorities, but for all Indonesians.”

What is the Draft Criminal Code?

The Draft Criminal Code proposes a drastic change to the current Indonesian Criminal Code (known as Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana or KUHP) by adding, deleting, or extending its form and content.

The current criminal law dating back to 1918 during the Dutch colonial period was codified and unified in 1946 after Indonesia’s independence. It is based on the civil law system and is a mixture of Dutch law, customary law known as Hukum Adat, and modern Indonesian law added over the years.

Many articles in the current code are duplicated or inconsistent as a result of the revision of the current code and the addition of bills in certain legal areas  such as the Domestic Violence Act and the Healthcare Code. The process of updating the code began over a decade ago and was led by many different governments, but this latest push is primarily Indonesia’s 49-year-old Hiariej, lovingly known as Prof Eddy- His legal qualifications and his expertise in criminal law