Constitutional Law Expert: New Criminal Procedure Code Affirms Suspect Designation Based on Two Valid Pieces of Evidence

Constitutional Law Expert Muhammad Rullyandi has stated that the enactment of Law Number 1 of 2025 concerning the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) is part of a national criminal justice system reform aimed at strengthening the rule of law and providing certainty in the execution of duties by law enforcement officers. “The birth of the new KUHAP is a legal reform paradigm that has undergone a harmonisation process and considered various legal developments, including Constitutional Court decisions that are part of the evolution of criminal procedural law,” Rullyandi said in Jakarta.

He explained that one point of consideration was the Constitutional Court Decision Number 21/PUU-XII/2014, which regulated the procedure for examining a prospective suspect before their designation. He noted that this provision was part of the old KUHAP regime and has been altered with the enactment of the new KUHAP. “Constitutional Court Decision Number 21/PUU-XII/2014 must be understood in the context of the KUHAP’s validity at that time. With the new KUHAP, there is a new paradigm and regulation that affirms the mechanism for designating a suspect based on the sufficiency of evidence,” he clarified.

Rullyandi pointed out that the new KUHAP explicitly stipulates that a suspect is designated after investigators have obtained at least two valid pieces of evidence, as regulated in Article 1 point 31 and Article 90 paragraph (1) of the new KUHAP. “The provision in the new KUHAP confirms that the primary basis for designating a suspect is the fulfilment of at least two valid pieces of evidence. This serves as an important instrument to guarantee legal certainty while strengthening the professionalism of law enforcement officers,” he said. He added that with this new regulation, the requirement for a preliminary examination of a prospective suspect, as practiced under the previous Constitutional Court ruling, is no longer an absolute prerequisite as long as investigators have met the evidentiary standards set by the new KUHAP.