Revision Of KUHAP Entering Priority Prolegnas 2023, The Prosecutor's Commission Asks To Pay Attention To Control Balance Elements

Illustration of the DPR plenary meeting at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta. (Antarananews)

JAKARTA - The Head of the Prosecutor's Commission, Barita Simanjuntak, assessed that the revision of the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) needs to pay attention to balance and mutual control or checks and balances.

"In addition to external supervision by Kompolnas (National Police Commission), for example at the investigation level, the revision of the Criminal Procedure Code is also related to checks and balances," said Barita Simanjuntak in the webinar 'Pemerahan dalam Praktik Pidana Mati di Indonesia: One Too Many' which was initiated by the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) in Jakarta, Friday 16 December.

Barita said that in the Indonesian criminal justice system in the upstream sector, there are investigations and prosecutions. Thus, the function of the investigation can work and be carried out by supervision of prosecution.

If this is done, he continued, then the alleged premeditated murder case involving the former head of the Police Professional and Security Division Ferdy Sambo will not drag on for months.

In that case, according to him, the Prosecutor's Commission could not do much because of the weak factor of the Criminal Procedure Code system that locked the role of prosecutors, namely only when the case file for the start of the investigation (SPDP) was given.

Barita alluded to the many problems of law enforcement that occurred, especially at the level of investigation (police). This is also inseparable from the research conducted by ICJR. He admitted that he agreed with the views expressed by Member of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Asrul Sani, namely encouraging the strengthening of supervision at the investigation level.

"Indeed strengthening this supervision is important," he added.

Meanwhile, Asrul Sani said the criminal justice system in Indonesia, regulated in the Criminal Procedure Code, had to be changed. Arsul saw that it was not purely adversarial; so that when the examination in court was carried out, the judge who questioned the witnesses and defendants.

"So, what I feel is that there is already under pressure, both to witnesses, prosecutors, and to advocates," said Arsul Sani.