Constitutional Court Rejects Hasto's Challenge to Anti-Corruption Law Article 21

The Constitutional Court panel has ruled it cannot accept a judicial review petition against Article 21 of Law Number 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption Offences, filed by PDIP Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto regarding obstruction of investigation provisions.

Constitutional Court Judge Guntur Hamzah, delivering the legal reasoning for the ruling, stated that the Court had considered whether the definition of obstruction of investigation in Article 21 of the Anti-Corruption Law was ambiguous and opened the door to criminalisation, thereby conflicting with the Constitution.

“However, the aforementioned petition has been ruled upon by the Court in Decision Number 71/PUU-XXIII/2025,” said Guntur at Constitutional Court headquarters in Central Jakarta on Monday.

He continued that whilst Hasto’s petition contained different grounds and reasoning compared to Case 71, the phrase “directly or indirectly” in Article 21 of the Anti-Corruption Law had been declared unconstitutional.

With this consideration, Guntur said, the object of Hasto’s petition no longer corresponded with the substance of the law provision being challenged for review. “Accordingly, according to the Court, the petitioner’s petition has lost its object,” Guntur stated.

Last July, after being charged by the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) using Article 21 of the Anti-Corruption Law, Hasto Kristiyanto filed a petition for judicial review with the Constitutional Court. His reason was that Article 21 of the Anti-Corruption Law was deemed to carry greater criminal penalties than other corruption-related articles.

Article 21 of the Anti-Corruption Law stipulates that anyone who intentionally obstructs, impedes, or frustrates, either directly or indirectly, the investigation, prosecution, or trial process concerning suspects, defendants, or witnesses in corruption cases may be sentenced to imprisonment of between 3 and 12 years and/or a fine of between 150 million rupiah to 600 million rupiah.

In his petition, Hasto requested the Constitutional Court to reduce the maximum prison sentence in the article to 3 years. He also requested the Court to clarify that Article 21 of the Anti-Corruption Law is a cumulative provision.

This means that a series of acts must be proven first before a person can be convicted under this article.