Yusril asserts that acquittal verdicts cannot be subject to appeal or cassation
The Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Affairs, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, has asserted that court acquittal verdicts cannot be subject to appeal or cassation.
When confirmed in Jakarta on Saturday, he reminded that with the enactment of Law Number 20 of 2025 concerning the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), there are fundamental changes regarding legal remedies against acquittal verdicts. Article 299, paragraph (2), point a of the KUHAP, he stated, explicitly determines that applications for cassation examination cannot be filed against acquittal verdicts.
This provision is further reinforced by the Supreme Court Circular Letter (SEMA) Number 4 of 2026 regarding Guidelines for Legal Remedies against Acquittal, Discharge, and Appeal Verdicts, as well as Appeals and Cassations that do not meet formal requirements.
“SEMA Number 4 of 2026 is very clear: no legal remedies, whether appeal or cassation, can be filed against an acquittal. Therefore, an acquittal must provide legal certainty and serve as the final point of the legal proceedings,” said Yusril.
Consequently, he continued, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed that acquittal or ‘vrijspraak’ cannot be subject to any legal remedy, either appeal or cassation.
Therefore, the Coordinating Minister requested that no distinction be made between ‘pure acquittal’ and ‘impure acquittal’ as a basis for filing legal remedies against an acquittal. “Such categories are not recognised in the new KUHAP,” Yusril emphasised.
According to him, criminal procedure law must provide certainty as to when legal proceedings against an individual must end. He noted that while the state possesses the authority to prosecute and adjudicate, such authority is limited by the law.
For this reason, Yusril continued, if a court has declared an individual acquitted, the law must respect that freedom. “Those who have been acquitted should not continue to be haunted by legal processes because ways are being sought to file legal remedies. That contradicts the principles of legal certainty and justice,” Yusril said.