Yusril: Proposed Change to Definition of Corruption Requires Further Study
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said proposals to change the definition of corruption still required further study.
He said input from the National Economic Council (DEN) was, so far, only a proposal outlined in broad terms.
“The details of the issues surrounding the definition of corruption that is to be adjusted to the UNCAC have not yet been discussed, whether in relation to substantive or procedural law,” Yusril told ANTARA in Jakarta on Saturday.
Yusril said he had been invited by the DEN to meet on Monday (26 October). He said the council might explain the proposed changes in detail or seek his views as a former Minister of Justice.
During his tenure as Minister of Justice, he said, he had amended Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, resulting in Law No. 20 of 2001, which remains in force today.
He also said that, in the same role, he had experience submitting a bill to establish the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in 2023, which remains in force today.
“I am willing to explain, if asked, so that we can clearly understand the background and history of the drafting of various laws and UN conventions related to combating corruption,” he said.
He said understanding the history was important because regulations did not emerge out of nowhere, and their implementation needed to be critically assessed to identify their strengths and weaknesses.
He therefore stressed that all aspects must be examined and considered carefully, so that both those seeking revisions and those wishing to retain the existing provisions think wisely and cautiously.
The UN Convention against Corruption was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 31 October 2003 and signed by 140 countries, including Indonesia. The convention came into force after it had been ratified by 30 countries, on 14 December 2005.
Indonesia ratified UNCAC on 18 April 2006 through Law No. 7 of 2006 on the Ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
However, Indonesia did not accept UNCAC in its entirety. Article 1(1) of Law No. 7 of 2006 states that the convention is ratified with a reservation to Article 66(2), which concerns the settlement of disputes.