Faculty of Law Urges Swift Enactment of the Draft Penal Code

detik.com — Prof Dr Sri Endah Wahyuningsih SH MHum, professor at the Faculty of Law at Unissula, stressed the importance of the House of Representatives and the President enacting the draft Penal Code without delay.

"We urge that the draft Penal Code be enacted soon," she said at a press conference at the Faculty of Law on Tuesday (6/9/2022).

She explained that the faculty's lecturers had carried out an in-depth study and concluded that the draft should be enacted soon, because the Penal Code currently in use no longer accords with the nation's sense of justice or its philosophy.

"The Penal Code in force today is a legacy of Dutch colonial rule that has applied for 104 years, so it can no longer reflect the values of justice from various perspectives," she said.

She added: "If it can be enacted soon, I think it will be a great achievement, because we will have a complete new Penal Code — not a patchwork of amended articles, but a wholesale replacement of the code made by the Dutch," Sri Endah stressed.

She also explained that the Netherlands has amended its own penal code hundreds of times.

"The Netherlands has amended its penal code hundreds of times, while we still hold to the law they made more than a century ago. We must be bolder in moving to a penal code of our own making, one adapted to the values of Pancasila," she explained.

At the same event, Dr Muhammad Taufik SH MH called for in-depth discussion of the 14 articles that remain in dispute.

"There are 14 crucial articles for which a way forward should be found through thorough discussion — for instance the articles on insulting the president and vice-president, and several others," he said.

The Dean of the Faculty of Law at Unissula, Dr Bambang Tri Bawono SH MH, regarded the circulating claims about the draft as illogical.

"I think the issues circulating about the draft Penal Code are illogical and need to be set straight. It is not true that if the bill is enacted the state will build concentration camps and be able to arrest and interrogate its people arbitrarily," he concluded.

Also present at the press conference were Dr Djunaidi SH SpN, Dr R Sugiharto SH MH, Dr Widayati SH MH, Dr Arpangi SH MH, Dr Ahmad Hadi Prayitno SH MH, Dr Achmad Arifulloh SH MH and Dr Nanang Sri Darmadi SH MH.