Criminal procedure bill debated soon: Oetojo

Criminal procedure bill debated soon: Oetojo

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said yesterday
that the government would take pains to ensure that the bill on
criminal procedure was debated soon by the House of
Representatives.

The bill is intended to replace the Criminal Code, which dates
back to Dutch colonial times.

Oetojo said the government was hopeful that the bill could be
submitted soon after the new House members assume their positions
in October.

"The present House's remaining tenure is too short for passing
such a bill. God willing, we will file it in the next term," said
Oetojo.

He declined to provide a specific timeframe for the bill's
deliberation.

Indonesia's current Criminal Code was enacted in 1946. Critics
say it is basically a translation of a Dutch colonial statute
entitled Wat boek van Strafrecht, which was enacted in 19th
century.

In the intervening 51 years, the Criminal Code has never been
amended. The code lacks provisions in relation to several crimes,
including marital rape, torture and hi-tech fraud. Its
shortcomings have prompted the government to introduce additional
laws, such as the controversial 1963 Subversion Law.

After 12 years of work on the bill, a panel of experts
appointed by the Agency for the Development of National Laws
completed the draft of the new Criminal Code in 1993. The bill
contains more than 600 articles, including provisions relating to
subversion and sophisticated crimes.

The government, however, apparently intends to make major
changes to the contents of the experts' draft. Legal expert
Harkristuti Harkrisnowo told The Jakarta Post earlier this month
that the draft had been altered to such an extent that the
drafters could no longer recognize their work.

"The 1993 draft was a resolution drawn up the team of experts.
The articles were still open for improvement. The government
feels that it should be enriched with customary laws," Oetojo
said.

Oetojo said that the government was still striving to polish
the draft further. "We are now in the final stage. We just need
to give it some finishing touches," he said.

He added that the government had involved the team of experts
in revising the draft law. "We have always involved them," he
said.

However, legal observer Mardjono Reksodiputro of the
University of Indonesia told The Jakarta Post in a separate
interview that he had never been formally informed about the
alterations.

"I know they have changed it," he said. "Even some of the key
articles even were altered. But, after 1993, I have never been
formally contacted again."

He explained that after the panel was dissolved, members who
came from the university were no longer involved in the process.
"But I think members from the Ministry of Justice continue to be
in the team," he added. (35)