Yusril Says Military Judiciary Law Must Be Amended: Parliament May Take the Lead

Coordinating Minister for Law and Human Rights Imipas Yusril Ihza Mahendra believes that Law No. 31 of 1997 on the Military Judiciary must be revised. He expressed this in response to questions about the developments in the acid attack case against KontraS activist Andrie Yunus by TNI members. “Yes, I think the law really needs to be changed. It should have been amended since 2004 with the enactment of the TNI Soldier Law. But it hasn’t been changed until now,” Yusril said at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Monday (27/4). However, to date, Yusril stated that the government has not taken the initiative to propose revisions to the law. He said that regarding that option, the government still needs to discuss it first with the DPR. “Unless the DPR takes the lead, that’s fine. Or if someone files it with the Constitutional Court, but until that happens, what applies is the provision of the military judiciary law itself,” he said. Yusril reminded that the Military Judiciary Law is still in effect to this day. He also recalled his role in drafting the 2004 TNI Law. He explained that if a TNI member commits a general criminal offence, they are tried in the general court. Similarly, if they commit a criminal offence in a military context, they are tried in the military court. “But that only applies after the Military Judiciary Law is amended. And until now, it hasn’t been amended,” he said. He stated that this is the problem. From the three laws in effect, including the Military Judiciary Law, the TNI Law, and the Criminal Procedure Code, they regulate in different ways. “So, until it is not amended or no one files it with the Constitutional Court, what applies is the provision of the military judiciary law. The military court does not look at the type of criminal offence committed, nor at the harm to which party, military or civilian, but only at the subject,” he said. Regarding the Andrie case, Yusril stated that a connectivity court can only be held if there are suspects from civilians, besides TNI, in the case. However, to date, in the Andrie case, there are no suspects from the civilian side. “Well, I say the police should conduct an investigation to see if there is really civilian involvement. Meanwhile, the process has now proceeded to court. Because the process is already underway, there is no connectivity until now,” he said. The absence of suspects from the civilian side is what, according to Yusril, makes the connectivity court unable to be held in the Andrie case. “Connectivity depends on the perpetrators. If the perpetrators are a mix of TNI soldiers and civilians, then connectivity. If only civilians or only military, it’s not relevant to talk about connectivity,” he said.