Urges To Ratify The Criminal Adjustment Bill Before The New Criminal Code Applies

Legal illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission III of the DPR RI, Sarifuddin Sudding, emphasized the importance of the Draft Law on Criminal Adjustments so that it is immediately ratified into law. He views that this bill can ensure that there is no vacancy in legal norms when the Criminal Code (Criminal Code) only takes effect in 2026.

According to Sudding, this regulation can strengthen the handling of narcotics crimes. He explained that a number of provisions in Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics are no longer covered by the scope of Law Regulation Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, while the comprehensive revision of the Narcotics Law has not been completed.

Sudding assessed that the revision of the Narcotics Law had not yet completed, causing potential legal loopholes that could hinder the investigation, prosecution, and prosecution of perpetrators.

"This Criminal Adjustment Bill is a necessary legislative intervention. We want to ensure that no legal loophole can be used by narcotics networks during the transition period towards the enactment of the new Criminal Code," said Sudding, Monday, December 8.

Sudding assessed that the clarity of norms is very important because narcotics crimes do not tolerate rule blurcity. Because according to him, any uncertainty immediately has an impact on the bluntness of law enforcement in the field.

"If there is a vacancy in norms, the legal process can stop. Officials cannot work optimally, and it is dangerous because criminals always seek the slightest space to avoid legal snares," said the PAN legislator from the Central Sulawesi electoral district.

Sudding also responded to public criticism questioning the acceleration of the discussion of this bill. He emphasized that the DPR's move was not a hasty act, but a decision based on technical urgency.

Sudding said the bill has a concise structure consisting of three Chapters and nine Articles because it is specifically designed to restore lost norms, not change the major substance of the criminal system.

"This bill is technical and very specific. If the DPR is slow, the legal risk is much greater. Criminals can actually take advantage of the absence of rules. That should not happen," he said.

Through efforts to harmonize through the Criminal Adjustment Bill, he hopes that the entire criminal rule in Indonesia can run in an integrated and modern legal system.

Sudding also said that the Criminal Adjustment Bill is the initial basis for ensuring that the criminal system runs more consistently, proportionally and provides legal certainty for every citizen, as well as preventing overlapping regulations. Included in the handling of narcotics crimes.

In this case, continued Sudding, adjusting the norms in the Criminal Adjustment Bill can support clearer distinction efforts between users, couriers, and dealers, as well as prevent overlapping with provisions in the new Criminal Code. According to him, the direction of updating national criminal law demands more rational, modern, and humanist law enforcement.

"Criminal law updates should place substantive justice as the main goal. This bill is part of the process," Sudding explained.

Therefore, the member of the House of Representatives commission in charge of legal affairs emphasized that the Bill on Criminal Adjustments is important to be ratified immediately. Sudding said law enforcement officials would still have a strong basis for eradicating narcotics crimes.

"And the community gets stable legal certainty," he concluded.

The Government and the Indonesian House of Representatives have officially completed the discussion of the Bill on Criminal Adjustments, on Tuesday, December 2 for further ratification into law in the nearest plenary meeting.

The Criminal Adjustment Bill was prepared to adjust the criminal provisions in laws outside the Criminal Code, regional regulations, and a number of criminal provisions in the Criminal Code to be consistent with the new criminal system. The Criminal Code will only take effect on January 2, 2026 after passing a three-year transition period.

The Criminal Adjustment Bill itself regulates criminal adjustments in sectoral laws, including rearranging criminal threats, adjusting the category of fines, and eliminating imprisonment in order to be in line with the structure of punishment in the latest Criminal Code.

In the realm of regional regulations, this bill stipulates that the authority to impose criminal sanctions is limited only to fines. In addition, this bill also contains improvements to several provisions in the Criminal Code, so that its implementation in the field is effective, clear, and does not cause multiple interpretations.