E/CN.4/1992/17/Àdd.1
page 8
29. Before considering whether KUHAP is in conformity with generally accepted
international standards, it must be pointed out that KUHAP, (art. 284, para. 2)
allows a (temporary) exception to criminal procedure to be made in a number of
laws, the most important of which is the Law on the Combat against Subversive
Activities, usually called the Anti-Subversion Law. This law, which originally
was a presidential decree of 1963, was transformed in 1969 by parliamentary
approval into a statute (Law No. 5/1969).
30. The definition of subversive activities in chapter 1 of the Law is
very broad and loose. Moreover, it is not necessary that the acts concerned
actually have the effect of endangering the security of the State; it is
sufficient that they might have that effect. For this reason the
Anti-Subversion Law has been severely criticized in Indonesia as well as
abroad.
31. As far as procedure is concerned, the most drastic exception to the
provisions of KUHAP is the provision that the Attorney-General (the chief of
the national prosecution service) has the authority to order the detention of
a suspect for a maximum of one year (art. 7 ) . In this case no pre-trial
proceedings can be started nor can such detention be subjected to any other
form of judicial control. The Special Rapporteur was informed that the
decision to charge a person with having committed crimes mentioned in the
Anti-Subversion Law or with crimes under the Penal Code (which also contains
crimes against the security of the State and against public order) must be
made by the Attorney-General and not by the local public prosecutor. He was
also informed that as long as this decision has not been made, the provisions
of KUHAP are applicable.
32. It is a matter of controversy in Indonesia whether the Anti-Subversion
Law should be maintained once the new Penal Code is enacted. Not only is
its constitutional legality disputed, but the broad powers given to the
authorities and the loose and vague definition of subversive activities have
given rise to much criticism. It has been submitted that crimes against the
security of the State and against public order should be punishable only
under the normal Penal Code. No judicial body so far has declared the
Anti-Subversion Law to be invalid while a considerable number of people have
been convicted under it. In the last few months a number of people from Aceh
province, where there has been serious civil unrest, have been sentenced for
having carried out subversive activities.
33. What is striking about Indonesian criminal procedure is the rigid
distinction between its various phases and between the various authorities
involved, as well as the passive role assigned to the public prosecutor and
the judiciary. Criminal investigation is exclusively a matter for the
police. During the first 20 days of detention no other authority is involved
unless pre-trial proceedings are started by the suspect or his relatives.
Although in general KUHAP must be deemed to be in conformity with the Body
of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention
or Imprisonment (adopted by consensus by the General Assembly in its
resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988), this absence of judicial control during
the initial period of arrest seems to be at odds with principle 37 which
reads: