Ministry Of Law And Human Rights Says Cheating Couples Can Be Criminally Charged With Licensing

Illustration of a partner's intimate relationship. (Unsplash-HOP DESIGN)

JAKARTA - Director General of Human Rights (HAM) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Dhana Putra, said that couples who are not married to infidelity will still be subject to adultery in Article 411 of the new Criminal Code (KUHP).

"This article confirms the government's commitment to upholding moral norms in society, therefore the Criminal Code has only provided stricter arrangements regarding cohabitation and adultery." Dhana said in a release as conveyed by the Public Relations of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Riau, Ahlan, in Pekanbaru, Monday, July 29, which was confiscated by Antara.

According to Dhana, the cohabitation in the new Criminal Code is defined as living together as a husband and wife outside of marriage. This means that this also includes couples who live together and behave like husband and wife without legal marriage ties.

Licensing in the new Criminal Code, he said, is the same as the old Criminal Code, which is still seen as a criminal act. Cohabitation and adultery are limited complaint offenses.

"That way, acts of cohabitation and adultery as regulated in article 411 and article 412 can only be processed legally if there are complaints from the injured parties," he said.

Complaints must come from the husband, wife, parents, or children of the parties involved in the act, without any official complaints from parties regarding actions that cannot be processed by law enforcement officials.

"This regulation is important in the context of human rights (HAM), because the state must maintain a balance between respecting individual rights and upholding social norms held by the community. Each regulation must consider its impact on personal freedom while ensuring that it does not violate the basic rights of citizens, the basic rights according to Law 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights. Among them is the right to build a family without any pressure, and the right to have offspring through legal marriage," he said.