Criminal code under scrutiny

Criminal code under scrutiny

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) will hold
a discussion on Dec. 17 about the need to revise the criminal
code procedures.

Experts will focus on a draft bill prepared by the foundation
which strives to curb state violence, foundation chairman Bambang
Widjojanto said yesterday.

The foundation drafted the bill after consulting with
intellectuals, religious figures, politicians and legal
professionals, most of whom agreed about the need to revise the
15-year-old procedures.

The foundation has proposed that 21 articles in the criminal
code procedures be revised, Bambang said.

But the draft does not address all the shortcomings in the
criminal code procedures, he cautioned. Instead the legal aid
foundation chose to focus on only seven key issues, including the
prevention of violence by the authorities.

"The politics of violence can't be wiped out even if we have
very good criminal code procedures, but still, an effort to
minimize it should be made," he said. (08)