The New Criminal Code is Considered Not Pancasilais

Illustration of the new Criminal Code that will take effect in January is still colored by colonial law. (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - UBK criminal law expert, Hudi Yusuf, assessed that the new Criminal Code (KUHP) which came into force on Friday, January 2, 2026, has not completely escaped the legacy of Dutch law and does not stand on Pancasila values (Pancasilais).

"Indonesia is not a western country, and has norms and values that are different from Western nations. If the new Criminal Code still adopts Dutch (colonial) law for 80 years after Indonesia's independence, it is too much," he said, Friday, January 2.

According to him, the fundamental problem of the Criminal Code lies in the philosophical foundation. Therefore, he questioned the reason why the Criminal Code was not compiled by making Pancasila as the source of all sources of law.

"The Criminal Code only refers to retributive justice, not justice based on Pancasila. Therefore, the law from the West, should be abolished after 80 years of Indonesian independence," said Hudi.

He assessed that the new Criminal Code was not ready to be implemented because the criminalization could not be separated from the complexity of cause and effect.

In every criminal case, said Hudi, there are many variables that should be considered by the judge before sentencing.

Hudi reminded of the potential threat to the community if the Criminal Code is still enforced without fundamental corrections, namely many articles that have the potential to suppress citizens.

"This is an average of all articles in the Criminal Code that can threaten people's lives. They just want it easy to punish their own people. They should not immediately apply colonial law to their own nation," he explained.

He emphasized that crime cannot be seen solely as an individual error that deserves a harsh punishment.

"There are still many crimes that are punished by causing the perpetrators of the crime to be deterred, because no one is born to be a criminal, they become criminals because there is a causality principle," said Hudi.