Except Terrorism and Corruption, General Surveillance Cannot Be Done in the New KUHAP Era

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Law Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej emphasized that forced efforts in the form of tapping outside the handling of criminal cases of corruption and terrorism cannot be carried out before the issuance of a special law regulating tapping.

"As long as there is no Wiretapping Law, investigators and public prosecutors should not conduct wiretapping. The exception only applies to corruption and terrorism cases, because it is regulated in their respective laws," said Edward, who is familiarly called Eddy, at a press conference at the Ministry of Law Building, Jakarta, Monday, January 5.

Eddy explained that wiretapping is still possible in handling corruption and terrorism cases because the laws governing both criminal acts explicitly give law enforcement authorities the authority to conduct wiretaps.

Meanwhile, Law Number 20 of 2025 concerning the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) which was signed by President Prabowo Subianto on December 17, 2025 does not regulate in detail the interception mechanism. This, according to Eddy, is a consequence of the Constitutional Court's decision.

"In the Criminal Procedure Code it is stated that provisions regarding wiretapping will be regulated in a separate law. It is not solely the will of the government and the DPR, but the mandate of the Constitutional Court's decision when the KPK Law is tested regarding the authority to wiretap," he said.

The provision in question is contained in Article 136 paragraph (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code which states, "Provisions regarding wiretapping as referred to in paragraph (1) shall be regulated by a law on wiretapping."

For information, the KUHAP Law was enacted by the Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi on December 17, 2025 and officially came into force on January 2, 2026, as stipulated in Article 369 of the law.