Criminal procedure bill debated soon: Oetojo<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said yesterday
\nthat the government would take pains to ensure that the bill on
\ncriminal procedure was debated soon by the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
The bill is intended to replace the Criminal Code, which dates
\nback to Dutch colonial times.<\/p>\n
Oetojo said the government was hopeful that the bill could be
\nsubmitted soon after the new House members assume their positions
\nin October.<\/p>\n
"The present House's remaining tenure is too short for passing
\nsuch a bill. God willing, we will file it in the next term," said
\nOetojo.<\/p>\n
He declined to provide a specific timeframe for the bill's
\ndeliberation.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's current Criminal Code was enacted in 1946. Critics
\nsay it is basically a translation of a Dutch colonial statute
\nentitled Wat boek van Strafrecht, which was enacted in 19th
\ncentury.<\/p>\n
In the intervening 51 years, the Criminal Code has never been
\namended. The code lacks provisions in relation to several crimes,
\nincluding marital rape, torture and hi-tech fraud. Its
\nshortcomings have prompted the government to introduce additional
\nlaws, such as the controversial 1963 Subversion Law.<\/p>\n
After 12 years of work on the bill, a panel of experts
\nappointed by the Agency for the Development of National Laws
\ncompleted the draft of the new Criminal Code in 1993. The bill
\ncontains more than 600 articles, including provisions relating to
\nsubversion and sophisticated crimes.<\/p>\n
The government, however, apparently intends to make major
\nchanges to the contents of the experts' draft. Legal expert
\nHarkristuti Harkrisnowo told The Jakarta Post earlier this month
\nthat the draft had been altered to such an extent that the
\ndrafters could no longer recognize their work.<\/p>\n
"The 1993 draft was a resolution drawn up the team of experts.
\nThe articles were still open for improvement. The government
\nfeels that it should be enriched with customary laws," Oetojo
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Oetojo said that the government was still striving to polish
\nthe draft further. "We are now in the final stage. We just need
\nto give it some finishing touches," he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the government had involved the team of experts
\nin revising the draft law. "We have always involved them," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
However, legal observer Mardjono Reksodiputro of the
\nUniversity of Indonesia told The Jakarta Post in a separate
\ninterview that he had never been formally informed about the
\nalterations.<\/p>\n
"I know they have changed it," he said. "Even some of the key
\narticles even were altered. But, after 1993, I have never been
\nformally contacted again."<\/p>\n
He explained that after the panel was dissolved, members who
\ncame from the university were no longer involved in the process.
\n"But I think members from the Ministry of Justice continue to be
\nin the team," he added. (35)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/criminal-procedure-bill-debated-soon-oetojo-1447893297",
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