Legal Expert: Daluwarsa Must Be the Main Consideration of the Panel of Judges in the Kukar Transmigration Land Case

Corruption trial for the use of transmigration land for mining activities in Kutai Kartanegara Regency (Kukar), East Kalimantan/DOK IST

Expert in law and lecturer at the School of Law (STIH) Litigation, Michael Hadylaya, assessed that the objection (exemption) filed by Budiono Tanbun's legal team regarding the expiration of the prosecution in the alleged corruption case for the utilization of transmigration land for mining activities in Kutai Kartanegara Regency (Kukar), East Kalimantan, should be of concern to the panel of judges.

According to Michael, the statute of limitations is a time limit that is explicitly determined by law for the state to prosecute. If the deadline has been exceeded and there is no legal action that stops or breaks the statute of limitations, then this aspect must be examined first before the panel of judges assesses the merits of the case.

"Daluwarsa should be a firm limit for the state's authority to prosecute. If the deadline has indeed been exceeded and has never been processed by law, then the legal prosecution should indeed be declared inadmissible," said Michael.

Legal expert and Lecturer at the School of Law (STIH) Litigation, Michael Hadylaya,

He emphasized that the daluwarsa was not a form of leniency or a gift for the defendant. According to him, the regulation regarding the daluwarsa is actually part of the principle of the rule of law which limits the authority of law enforcement to continue to run according to the specified mechanism.

"The past does not mean a gift for the defendant, but discipline for the prosecution as a consequence of due process of law," he said.

Michael explained that if all the alleged acts were completed by December 2007 at the latest, while the new case was transferred to the court in July 2026 and there was no prosecution action that legally terminated the statute of limitations, the objection filed by the lawyer must first be examined and answered by the panel of judges.

According to him, the existence of alleged state losses with large values does not necessarily rule out legal provisions regarding the expiration of prosecution.

"The magnitude of the state's losses cannot by itself revive the prosecution authority that has been abolished," said Michael.

He added that, in the end, the assessment of whether or not the conditions for the expiration of the term of office are met remains in the hands of the panel of judges based on the facts revealed at the trial and the applicable legal provisions.