The judicial review hearing of No. 8 of 1981 on the Criminal Procedure Code to hear an expert for the Petitioners, Wednesday (8/24/2021). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

---

Wednesday, August 24, 2022 | 14:06 WIB

JAKARTA (MKRI)—The right to legal assistance is not only granted to suspects and defendants, but also to “witnesses and the reported in the investigation process.” Therefore, there should be a new norm in Article 54 of Law No. 8 of 1981 on the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) in order to guarantee equality before the law as mandated by Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.

The statement was made by a law lecturer of Pelita Harapan University, Jamin Ginting, when testifying virtually for the Petitioners at the sixth hearing for case No. 61/PUU-XX/2022 on the material judicial review hearing of the KUHAP on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 at the plenary hearing.

“Everyone must be given the opportunity to obtain legal assistance at every level of examination for the purpose of defense (Article 56 paragraph (1) of Law No. 48 of 2009). This is to ensure equality before the law, where everyone is treated equally without discriminating against social level, class, religion, skin color, [wealth], et cetera before the law, or the court will judge according to the law without discrimination, pursuant to Article 4 paragraph (1) of Law No. 48 of 2009,” he stressed.

Also read:

Deemed Restrictive, Criminal Procedure Code Challenged by Advocates

Petitioners of Criminal Procedure Code Revise Petition Title

Therefore, Jamin added, the KUHAP stipulates that witnesses have the right to legal assistance at every level of examination as guaranteed by the law and to equality before the law as well as protection as subjects of examination, not as objects like suspects and defendants.

He also stressed that Article 18 paragraph (4) of Law No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights reads, “Everyone brought before a tribunal has the right to legal aid from the start of the hearing until a legally binding decision is made by the tribunal.” This, he believed, means that witnesses, suspects, and defendants have the right to legal assistance.

“This means that the right of witnesses is also protection of human rights that must be granted to witnesses under examination,” he said before the hearing chaired by Chief Justice Anwar Usman.

Also read:

Criminal Procedure Code Guarantees Rights of Suspects and Defendants

House, Police, KPK’s Views on Legal Assistance during Examination

The case No. 61/PUU-XX/2022 was filed by Octolin H. Hutagalung and 11 other petitioners. The Petitioners, who are advocates, challenge Article 54 of the KUHAP, which reads, “In the interest of defense, a suspect or defendant shall have the right to legal assistance from one or more legal advisers during the period and at every level of examination, according to the procedure determined by this law.”

They believe that in a criminal case, advocates are often hired to assist someone who reports a crime, the reported, a witness, a suspect, or a defendant. They believe that the enactment of Article 54 of the KUHAP has led to legal uncertainty for advocates in performing their profession since there are no provisions in the KUHAP that regulates the rights of a witness or a person of interest to legal aid and assistance from a legal counsel in offering testimony before investigators in the police, the prosecutor’s office, or the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission). Therefore, in the petitum, the Petitioners requested that the Court declare Article 54 of the KUHAP conditionally constitutional insofar as it be interpreted to include the witness and the person of interest.

Writer        : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR            : M. Halim
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 8/25/2022 09:36 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

---