Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA) - The Law and Human Rights Ministry conducted online and offline dissemination of information on the Draft Criminal Code to garner inputs and identify aspirations of the people of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province.
"We inform of the Draft Criminal Code (both) in-person or virtually to get (to know the) aspirations or input from (everyone) in East Nusa Tenggara pertaining to the regulations that had been formulated for more than 50 years," Head of the NTT Law and Human Rights Office Marciana Dominika Jone stated here on Wednesday.
Representatives of law enforcement officers, students, as well as the community and sub-district officials from six sub-districts in Kupang City -- Alak, Kelapa Lima, Kota Raja, Maulafa, and Oebobo -- were participating in the in-person dissemination of information at the regional office.
Additionally, the virtual events had several participating representatives from agencies of 22 district and cities across ENT, including correctional and immigration institutions, regional legal organizations, and the regional house of representatives' regulation-making institutions.
Jone drew attention to the fact that the Draft Criminal Code still had its pros and cons. Hence, the ministry informed the public in detail about issues surrounding the articles in question.
She expected this initiative to also serve as a forum to streamline the item as a legal creation made in Indonesia since the current Criminal Code was a product of the Dutch colonial era. Thus, it would function as law, which was the heart of the nation.
She emphasized that the integration of criminal law geared towards the Indonesian criminal law system was crucial. It was necessary to pursue re-codification efforts that encompassed consolidation and synchronization of criminal law regulations, both vertically and horizontally, into a systematic law.
She said that it had been drafted for over five decades and involved criminal law experts. The reform of the Criminal Code, which was currently in progress by the government, was one of the developments in the criminal law aspect.
"Hence, information dissemination and public discussion of the Draft Criminal Code can be a place to get inputs from the public as well as provide further explanations about the Draft Criminal Code itself," he remarked.
Acting head of legal affairs at the Law and Human Rights Ministry ENT Office Yunus P. S. Bureni drew attention to the several pros of the Draft Criminal Code as a criminal law and the latest criminal system, including the adoption of balance as principle, open and limited recodification of the criminal law, the purpose of punishment, and regulating absolute and substitute liability.
"The Draft Criminal Code formulates imprisonment as a last resort. This is very helpful for correctional officers to address (the issue of) overcrowding," he remarked.
He noted that the code did not restrict freedom of expression, including not limiting press freedom. It had also been adjusted to the Constitutional Court's decision on insulting the president, the government, and officials.
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Insulting the president had become a complaint offense or was no longer a pure crime. In the past, insults to the government took the form of a formal offense. In the code, it was changed to a material offense. As for insults hurled at officials, what was earlier categorized as an ordinary offense was changed to a complaint offense.
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He also noted that another issue pertaining to the people's private lives related to morality. For instance, the crime of adultery or living together without marriage was regulated as a complaint offense, so it could only be processed in a legal manner if a complaint was lodged by people affected first-hand, such as the spouse, parents, or children.
