Co-Habitating with Indonesia's New Criminal Code: How Will Complaints-Based Offenses Work? (With Anugerah Rizki Akbari)

After 60 years of trying, Indonesia finally has a new criminal code that standardizes sentencing, boosts legal certainty and updates penalties that were more in line with the Indonesia of the Dutch colonial era than that of the 21st century. But, as Anugrah Rizki Akbari, lecturer of Criminal Law at Universitas Indonesia told Kevin and Jeff, the passing of the criminal code is not the finish line, but rather the beginning of a three-year process of combing through decades of statutes from to bring them in line with the new code. While an improvement on the patchwork of laws that date back to the 1800s, the code is proving controversial.

Conservatives in parliament are on board because the new criminal code includes jail time for extra marital sex. The president and vice president can levy criminal charges for defamation. These provisions will need safeguards and must be followed up with robust training of Indonesia's vast police force and public prosecutors. On balance the new criminal code is a welcome development -- but in the wrong hands it could undermine Indonesian democracy, personal liberties and the country's standing in the world.

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