Menkumham: The RI-Singapore Extradition Treaty Is Progressive

BETWEEN PHOTO/Setpres/Agus Suparto/Handout/wsj.

JAKARTA - Menkumham Yasonna H. Laoly said the extradition agreement for fugitives between Indonesia and Singapore was progressive because it consisted of articles and scopes that were useful for the present and future.

"The Indonesia-Singapore extradition agreement is progressive, flexible, and criminal acts in the present and future," Yasonna said in a press release quoted by ANTARA, Friday, March 29.

He explained that the Indonesia-Singapore extradition agreement consisted of 19 articles with the scope of the two countries agreeing to carry out extradition for anyone found to be in the territory of which country and sought by a request country for prosecution, trial, and execution of penalties for extradited crimes.

In this extradition agreement, there are 31 criminal acts where the perpetrators can be extradited, including criminal acts of corruption, money laundering, bribery, banking, narcotics, terrorism and financing of terrorist activities, as well as various other criminal acts based on the laws of the two countries.

Not only that, the extradition of Indonesia-Singapore also has a special feature, namely the determination of the citizenship of the perpetrators of the crime is determined when the crime is committed.

This is to close the gap that may arise due to the change of nationality of the perpetrators of the crime who try to avoid the legal process.

"Furthermore, to comply with the provisions of Article 78 of the Criminal Code, this agreement adheres to the retroactive principle of up to 18 years as an effort to reach criminal acts committed before the Indonesia-Singapore Extradition Agreement is carried out," Yasonna explained.

The Minister of Law and Human Rights hopes that the Indonesia-Singapore extradition agreement can be directly utilized by law enforcers, provide deterrence or prevention effects, and narrow the space for criminals to escape.

The agreement, which was signed in Bintan, Riau Islands, by Yasonna on January 25, 2022, has been ratified through Law Number 5 of 2023 concerning Ratification of Agreements between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the Extradition of Fugitives.

The Government of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore have effectively imposed an agreement on the extradition of the fugitive as of March 21, 2024.