ABSTRACT

In late 2022, Indonesia’s national parliament enacted a new Criminal Code, which replaced a 1918 Code introduced during Dutch colonial rule. Some provisions – such as those covering the death penalty, corporate liability and criminal settlements – have been relatively well received by reformists. But many other provisions have been widely and strongly criticised. While the Code claims to democratise, decolonise and consolidate Indonesian criminal law, this article demonstrates that it has achieved the opposite. It undermines democracy by seriously hampering free speech, including legitimate criticism of government officeholders and institutions. It reinstates offences imposed during the Dutch colonial era that were used against Indonesian nationalists pushing for independence, including Indonesia’s first president, Soekarno. And, far from bringing together Indonesia’s disparate regulatory sources of criminal law, the Code adds another layer of law to existing sui generis criminal statutes, which largely remain in effect. Worse, the new Code imposes conservative religious-based values allowing the state to interfere in citizens’ private sexual lives. The Code also appears to encourage subnational lawmakers to give effect to localised customary norms of criminal law, which might reflect even more conservative values and result in the prohibition of various expressions of sexuality, including homosexuality.

摘要

2022 年底，印度尼西亚国民议会颁布了新的《刑法》，取代了荷兰殖民统治期间颁布的 1918 年《刑法》。一些条款——例如涉及死刑、公司责任和刑事和解的条款——受到改革派的相对好评。但许多其他条款受到了广泛而强烈的批评。虽然该法典声称实现了印度尼西亚刑法的民主化、非殖民化和巩固，但本文表明它却取得了相反的效果。它严重阻碍言论自由，包括对政府官员和机构的合法批评，从而破坏民主。它恢复了荷兰殖民时代对推动独立的印度尼西亚民族主义者施加的罪行，其中包括印度尼西亚第一任总统苏加诺。和，该法典并没有将印度尼西亚不同的刑法监管来源结合在一起，而是在现有的专门刑事法规的基础上增加了另一层法律，这些法规基本上仍然有效。更糟糕的是，新法强加了保守的宗教价值观，允许国家干预公民的私人性生活。该守则似乎还鼓励地方立法者实施当地的刑法习惯规范，这可能反映更加保守的价值观，并导致禁止包括同性恋在内的各种性表达方式。新法典强加了保守的宗教价值观，允许国家干预公民的私人性生活。该守则似乎还鼓励地方立法者实施当地的刑法习惯规范，这可能反映更加保守的价值观，并导致禁止包括同性恋在内的各种性表达方式。新法典强加了保守的宗教价值观，允许国家干预公民的私人性生活。该守则似乎还鼓励地方立法者实施当地的刑法习惯规范，这可能反映更加保守的价值观，并导致禁止包括同性恋在内的各种性表达方式。