Changes to Criminal Offenses and Penalties
The new code revises or abolishes several offenses, including provisions on corruption, money laundering, and corporate criminal liability. These changes have not been without controversy.
Critics point to amended anti-corruption rules that reduce the minimum prison sentence from four years to two and lower fines to 10 million rupiah, down sharply from the previous 200 million rupiah minimum.
At the same time, the KUHP introduces new sanctions for intellectual property crimes, targeting trademark and branding violations, false IP ownership claims, and the leaking of trade secrets.
Modernizing Courtroom Procedures
The updated KUHAP focuses on how justice is delivered. It strengthens investigative, prosecutorial, and trial procedures while rolling out digital systems designed to make courts faster and more efficient—an attempt to bring the judiciary into the digital age.
A Law Years in the Making
Parliament approved the new penal code in 2022, after an earlier plan to implement it in 2019 was shelved. That delay followed student-led protests against controversial provisions, including articles criminalizing extra-marital sex and reviving penalties for insulting the president and state institutions.
Further opposition stemmed from concerns that the reforms weakened the Corruption Eradication Commission, an issue in a country frequently rocked by high-profile graft cases.
