Yusril Submits Cassation Ruling in Delpedro et al. Case to Supreme Court
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Services, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, respects the further legal step in the form of a cassation taken by law enforcement officials in the Delpedro Marhaen and associates case.
Yusril stated that although the Prosecutor’s Office is part of the executive branch, prosecutors remain independent in carrying out their duties and authority as law enforcement apparatus.
“From the beginning, I have stated that court decisions must be respected as a manifestation of judicial independence. At the same time, every legal step, including cassation efforts, should be truly based on the normative provisions in the applicable criminal procedure law, to create fair legal certainty as mandated by the 1945 Constitution,” said Yusril, in a written statement in Jakarta on Tuesday (7/4/2026).
Yusril explained that in the Delpedro Marhaen and associates case, the investigation, prosecution, and trial processes all still used the old KUHAP.
Based on the transitional provisions of the KUHAP, all trial processes and their continuations remain under the old KUHAP.
However, applying the legal principle that if there is a change in law, the law most favourable to the defendant should apply.
“Well, when the acquittal verdict was handed down, the new KUHAP had already taken effect. Can the prosecutor cassate against an acquittal after the new KUHAP has taken effect? Meanwhile, the new KUHAP states that in an acquittal decision, that decision is final, and the prosecutor may not cassate. Or can the prosecutor still file a cassation because the case began under the old KUHAP? This becomes an academic debate,” said Yusril.
Therefore, according to Yusril, if the prosecutor still files the cassation, the decision on whether the cassation is permissible will be determined by the Supreme Court.
He said that Delpedro and his lawyers can use the argument of legal change in their counter-memorandum to the Supreme Court.
In addition, according to him, the Supreme Court will still examine the cassation petition.
That decision is the authority of the cassation panel of judges handling the case.
“So because the Prosecutor has filed the cassation, we just wait for what the Supreme Court’s decision will be later. The government will respect whatever the Supreme Court’s decision is as the highest judicial authority in our country,” he stated.
Yusril opined that in the future, if the investigation, prosecution, prosecution, and trial processes have used the new KUHAP, then for acquittal decisions, in accordance with the provisions of Article 299 of the KUHAP, the prosecutor should not file any further legal remedies to uphold legal certainty.