Witness and Victim Protection Bill Drives Paradigm Shift in Witness Protection

Jakarta (ANTARA) - General Secretary of the Association of Criminal Law and Criminology Lecturers (ASPERHUPIKI) Ahmad Sofian assesses that the Witness and Victim Protection Bill (RUU PSDK) drives a paradigm shift in the criminal justice system towards a more victim-oriented approach. Sofian told ANTARA when contacted in Jakarta on Wednesday that this change is important because protection for witnesses and victims has not yet fully become the primary focus in law enforcement practices. “The Witness and Victim Protection Bill (RUU PSDK) indeed has the potential to be a normative game changer, but its impact on the culture of law enforcement officials greatly depends on how far those norms are ‘translated’ into practice,” he said. According to him, this regulatory revision pushes a shift from an instrumental approach to a rights-based approach, but the change does not occur automatically without transformation at the apparatus level. “The paradigm shift from instrumental to rights-based approach does not happen automatically just with a change in the law,” he said. He emphasised that the bill is an important prerequisite for building a criminal justice system that is more substantively just, but its success is highly determined by the readiness of the apparatus to change their perspective. “It (RUU PSDK) opens the way towards a criminal justice system that is more substantively just and victim-perspective oriented. However, its success is determined by whether the apparatus is willing to shift from ‘formal law enforcers’ to ‘human rights protectors’,” he said. Furthermore, Sofian explained that the bill brings fundamental changes by positioning witnesses and victims as legal subjects with active rights in the judicial process. “This bill brings an important shift, namely that witnesses and victims are positioned as legal subjects with active rights (right to protection, participation, restitution, recovery),” he said. This approach, he continued, shifts the law enforcement model from one previously focused on perpetrators to one oriented towards victim recovery. “The approach changes from a crime control model focused on perpetrators to victim-oriented justice focused on victim recovery,” he said. The implications of this change mean that law enforcement officials are no longer merely gathering statements but are obliged to ensure comprehensive protection for witnesses and victims at every stage of the legal process. “The implications are that the apparatus (police, prosecutors, judges) are no longer just ‘taking statements’, but must guarantee the safety of witnesses/victims, avoid revictimisation, and facilitate recovery,” he said. Sofian conveyed that strengthening regulations must be accompanied by consistent implementation so that protection for witnesses and victims does not stop at the normative level but is truly felt in judicial practice.