Experts say criminal bill fails to protect basic rights
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Legal experts have criticized the Criminal Code bill, currently in the final stages of discussion before being submitted to the House of Representatives next month for deliberation, for not adequately accommodating articles on the promotion of human rights.
Legal expert Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara said that even though the bill, which had taken 20 years to prepare, had adopted international conventions concerning human rights such as torture and genocide, there were still loopholes that may lead to arbitrary prosecution.
"The team in charge of drafting the bill should think over how to avoid the possibility of exploitation in making arrests and sentencing," he told a discussion held to examine the bill by the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam).
Abdul Hakim pointed out some of the 647 articles in the bill that needed revising, including Article 193 to Article 197 on arrests of those who spread Communist, Marxist and Leninist propaganda.
The others are Article 224 to Article 227 on the attacks on the personal dignity of the President and Vice President.
"The articles fail to promote people's basic civil and political rights. It gives the opportunity for aimless interpretation of political ideas that they may be detrimental to the people.
Abdul Hakim also pointed to Article 249 on the arrests of people for expressing hostility toward others due to differences in race, ethnicity or religion.
He questioned the reasons for not inserting political positions in the article since currently there are many conflicts between certain groups in the country caused by differences in their political views.
"Should we tolerate all this by not including hostility toward another political group as a crime? If we do, I'm pessimistic about the future of our democracy," he contended.
Abdul Hakim and former minister of justice Muladi, who is one of the draft team members and a speaker in the discussion, agreed that there should be gradual deliberation on the bill due to its complexity to enable the House of Representatives to thoroughly study each article.
The drafting of the Criminal Code started in March 1981 and legal experts handed the first draft to the Ministry of Justice in 1993. The first team leader Sudarto died in 1986, while his successor Roeslan Saleh died in 1988. Legal consultant to the team, Oemar Seno Adjie, died in 1991.
The most recent team leader was Mardjono Reksodiputro until the drafting was taken over by the Ministry of Justice under a team established by the directorate of legislation. The content of the bill was made publicly known at the end of last year.
Muladi explained that the reformation of the existing Criminal Code was a tough job because it had to include as many crimes as possible that take place in the modern world.
"But it doesn't mean that we should criminalize all aspects of life, so that there is the threat of being sentenced within everything we do. That only shows that ours is a sick society," he added.