Legal Expert Proposes Replacing 'Asset Forfeiture' with 'Return of Wealth'
A legal expert from Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta, Chairul Huda, has provided several notes regarding the formulation of terms and definitions in the Asset Forfeiture Bill (RUU Perampasan Aset). Chairul proposed that the House of Representatives reconsider the use of the term ‘perampasan’ (forfeiture) and the word ‘aset’ (asset) to avoid legal confusion in future law enforcement practice.
The term ‘perampasan’ is a term often used as an additional criminal sanction through a court ruling. Meanwhile, in this Bill, forfeiture is Non-Conviction Based (NCB) or does not go through a sentencing ruling. I am concerned that if the term is the same, it will cause confusion in practice,” said Chairul during a Public Hearing Meeting (RDPU) with Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Wednesday (26/8).
As an alternative to the term forfeiture or recovery, Chairul suggested using the term ‘pengembalian’ (return) to better reflect the essence of the legal mechanism without obscuring existing authority.
In addition to the term forfeiture, Chairul also highlighted the use of the word ‘aset’. He assessed that the definition of asset in the Bill is identical to the definition of ‘harta kekayaan’ (wealth) which has been explicitly regulated in Article 159 of the new Criminal Code (Law No. 1/2023) as well as anti-money laundering regulations.
‘Why not use the term ’harta kekayaan’? So that it is in line with existing legal definitions. There should not be two different terms for exactly the same definition,’ he explained.
Furthermore, Chairul also added notes regarding the inclusion of the phrase ‘upaya paksa’ (coercive measures) in the definition of the Asset Forfeiture Bill. According to him, the new Criminal Code has formulated coercive measures in a limitative manner specifically for the investigation and prosecution stages. He assessed that considering the non-conviction based forfeiture mechanism is not part of the investigation or prosecution process of conventional criminal cases, the phrase ‘upaya paksa’ should be avoided.
He also suggested arranging grammar related to object qualifications, namely using the designation ‘harta kekayaan terkait dengan tindak pidana’ (wealth related to criminal acts) to be more straightforward and precise according to Indonesian language rules.
‘So these terms are very important for me, as a criminal law lecturer. Because one of the things I learned is that legal science is the science of definitions. If you study any course at the Faculty of Law, it starts with definitions. So, if the definition is problematic, the content is feared to be problematic,’ he said.