JAKARTA - The Constitutional Court (MK) held a follow-up hearing on the material test of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code (KUHP), Monday (18/5/2026). This session highlights a number of controversial articles, especially regarding insults to the president and vice president and the crime of adultery.
Quoted from Antara, Monday, May 18, there were six cases of testing the Criminal Code that were heard in the trial.
One of the cases that has been in the spotlight is Case No. 29/PUU-XXIV/2026 filed by Zico Leonard Djagardo Simanjuntak and merged with Case No. 26/PUU-XXIV/2026 filed by Bernita Matondang and friends. The application tests Article 264 of the Criminal Code regarding insults to the president and vice president.
The applicants considered that the article was contrary to the 1945 Constitution because it was considered to have similar substance to Article 15 of Law Number 1 of 1946 which had previously been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.
In addition, case number 275/PUU-XXIV/2026 filed by a student named Afifah Nabila Fitri also sued Article 218 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of the Criminal Code concerning insults against the president and vice president.
The applicant considers that this article creates legal uncertainty because it provides special protection or privileges to the president and vice president which is considered contrary to the principle of equality before the law as stipulated in Article 27 paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.
In addition to the article on insulting the president, the trial also discussed a lawsuit against Article 411 paragraph (2) of the Criminal Code regarding the crime of adultery.
Case No. 280/PUU-XXIII/2025 was filed by Susi Lestari and case No. 282/PUU-XXIII/2026 was filed by Tania Iskandar. The applicants considered that the article was contrary to Article 28B of the 1945 Constitution.
The applicant argues that the article creates a paradoxical situation for couples of different religions who cannot marry because of legal rules, but on the other hand, a legal extramarital relationship is still punishable.
According to the applicant, this condition makes the state considered to hinder couples of different religions to marry and punish them for not getting married.
In addition, the applicant also assessed that Article 411 paragraph (2) created a different treatment in the complaint mechanism. People who are married can only be complained about by a legal spouse, while unmarried people can be complained about by parents or children.
The applicants assessed that the provision made unmarried individuals more vulnerable to criminalization.
In addition to the cases of presidential insult and adultery, the Constitutional Court also heard Case No. 27/PUU-XXIV/2026 filed by Atrid Dayani and friends regarding Article 237 letter b and c of the Criminal Code concerning the state emblem.
The applicant considers the norm to be too broad and multi-interpretable so that it has the potential to criminalize the use of the state emblem in the context of academics, culture, and national expression.
In the trial process, the Constitutional Court had previously requested information from the government and the House of Representatives as the law-makers. The government was represented by Deputy Minister of Law Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, while the DPR was represented by the DPR RI Expert Team.
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