The legal team of former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil\nQoumas has argued that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)\ndesignation of their client as a suspect fails to comply with procedure\nand violates provisions of the new Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP). This\nposition was presented in the conclusion of pre-trial proceedings at\nSouth Jakarta District Court on Monday, 9 March.<\/p>\n
The defence team criticised the use of a KPK Leadership Decision in\nthe suspect designation. According to their submission, under Article\n90(1) of the new KUHAP, this authority should rest with investigators,\nnot with the leadership of an institution.<\/p>\n
This argument was reinforced by reference to testimony from an expert\nin state administrative law presented by the KPK (respondent). \u201cDuring\nthe hearing, the state administrative law expert presented by the\nrespondent, Professor Immanuel Sudjatmoko, S.H., M.S., actually\nconfirmed that governmental authority cannot be created unilaterally by\nofficials but must be obtained through lawful means: attribution,\ndelegation, or mandate,\u201d said Yaqut\u2019s legal team, citing the conclusion\nfiled with the pre-trial judge at South Jakarta District Court on\nMonday, 9 March.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expert presented by the respondent even added that amendment of\nlegislation can be a legitimate cause for loss of governmental authority\nby officials, particularly when the amendment explicitly removes the old\ninstrument of authority,\u201d added Yaqut\u2019s counsel.<\/p>\n
Another issue raised concerned implementation of Article 90(2) of the\nnew KUHAP. Yaqut\u2019s team stated that their client received only a\nnotification letter, not the principal document consisting of a Suspect\nDesignation Letter.<\/p>\n
In their closing brief, the defence counsel referred to testimony\nfrom a criminal law expert from the respondent, Professor Dr.\u00a0Erdianto\nEffendi. \u201cThis fact was actually confirmed by the criminal law expert\npresented by the respondent, Professor Dr.\u00a0Erdianto Effendi, S.H.,\nM.Hum., who testified that the suspect designation referred to in\nArticle 90(2) of the new KUHAP is contained in a Suspect Designation\nLetter signed by the investigator and communicated to the suspect no\nlater than one day after the Suspect Designation Letter is issued,\u201d\nexplained the defence team.<\/p>\n
Similar observations were made by state administrative law expert Oce\nMadril, who provided testimony for Yaqut\u2019s side. \u201cThe expert also\nemphasised that if a notification letter regarding suspect designation\nis delivered without attaching the suspect designation letter itself,\nsuch action violates Article 90 of the new KUHAP, because the principal\ndocument that must be delivered to the addressee is the Suspect\nDesignation Letter,\u201d the lawyer said.<\/p>\n
For context, the KPK designated Yaqut as a suspect on 8 January 2026.\nAlthough notification of the designation was received on 9 January 2026,\nYaqut\u2019s team asserts that the official suspect designation letter had\nnot been received until the end of February 2026.<\/p>\n
The South Jakarta District Court is scheduled to deliver its\npre-trial judgment decision on Wednesday, 11 March.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legal-team-cites-procedural-defects-in-yaquts-suspect-designation-in-pre-trial-hearing-conclusion-1773042785", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }