The Faculty of Law, Universitas Brawijaya (FH UB) together with the Civil Society Coalition held a public discussion highlighting the potential dangers of three Draft Laws (RUU) currently being discussed in the legislature, namely the Indonesian Police Bill, the Army Bill, and the Prosecutor’s Office Bill. The discussion, which took place on Friday (28/2/2025) in Building C of FH UB, featured various legal experts, academics, and activists as resource persons.
In the forum themed “Expanding Authority vs. Strengthening Supervision: Criticism of the Indonesian Police Bill, the Army Bill, and the Prosecutor’s Office Bill “, the resource persons were Prof. M Ali Safa’at (Lecturer of FH), Al Araf (Senior Researcher of Imparsial & Head of Centra Initiative), Saut Situmorang (Former Leader of KPK 2015-2019), and Julius Ibrani (Chairman of the National Legal Aid and Human Rights Association/PBHI). The speakers agreed that the three bills have the potential to cause overlapping authority and weaken the existing legal system.
Dean of FH UB, Dr. Aan Eko Widiarto, S.H., M.Hum, emphasized that the revision of these three laws is closely related to changes to the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), which is the foundation of the justice system in Indonesia. He highlighted the fundamental changes in the investigation and inquiry mechanisms, including the potential elimination of the investigation stage which could have major implications for the legal process.
“As legal academics, we must provide critical and objective views. This revision must not increase authority without balanced supervision. We must ensure that protecting people’s rights remains a priority,” said Dr. Aan.
The Chairman of National PBHI, Julius Ibrani, reminded that Indonesia has experienced a wave of overcriminalization since the revision of the 2023 Criminal Code. According to him, the Polri, TNI, and Prosecutor’s Bills have risk in worsening the situation by giving excessive authority to law enforcement officers without adequate control mechanisms.
“Two years ago, we saw how the revision of the 2023 Criminal Code actually criminalized many things that should not be criminal acts, while cases involving corporations were decriminalized. Now, with these three bills, the threat of overcriminalization is increasingly real,” Julius emphasized.
He highlighted several controversial points in the draft regulations, including the role of the military in the civilian sphere, the authority of prosecutors in wiretapping and preconditions for prosecution, and the prosecutor-centric system that could shift the balance of the role of police investigators.
“We must avoid the concentration of power in one institution without clear supervision. If left unchecked, civil society could be increasingly marginalized in an unbalanced legal system,” he added.
Former KPK leader, Saut Situmorang firmly assessed that these three bills are not a solution to legal uncertainty in Indonesia, but instead add complexity and increase the potential for abuse of authority.
“Legal uncertainty is still very high. If we add regulations without ensuring the effectiveness of existing regulations, what will happen is even worse legal chaos,” said Saut.
He also criticized the trend of changing laws in Indonesia which is often not accompanied by in-depth academic studies. For example, he mentioned the revision of the KPK Law which actually weakened the institution and the Job Creation Law which failed to meet the target of job creation.
“We have seen how regulations made without careful calculation have resulted in failed implementation. If these three bills are not reviewed, I am afraid we will face bigger legal problems,” he said.
In addition, Saut also highlighted the potential for abuse of intelligence regulated in the three bills. According to him, if not regulated properly, the authority to wiretap and intelligence could lead to excessive surveillance practices against the public.
“Intelligence should be responsible for national security, not a tool to monitor civil society without a clear basis. If supervision of this authority is not strengthened, then abuse of power is just a matter of time,” he concluded.
The discussion was closed with the hope that the DPR and the government would be more careful in designing regulations that have a major impact on the national legal system. FH together with the Civil Society Coalition encouraged the revision of the Polri, TNI, and Kejaksaan Bills to be carried out transparently and involve academics and legal experts in depth.
“We hope that the House of Representatives and the President will truly consider the public interest in discussing this bill. There should not be any authority that accumulates in one institution that risks causing abuse of authority,” said Dr. Aan closing the discussion.
With various criticisms that have emerged, the revision of these three bills still becomes a hot topic of debate among academics, legal practitioners, and civil society. All parties hope that the resulting regulations truly reflect the principles of justice, legal certainty, and protection of human rights. (Rma/FH PR/ UB PR/ Trans. Iir)
