E/CN.4/2000/4/Add.2 page 13 2. The provisions of the Criminal Code relating to national security 50. These provisions are contained in four chapters of Book II of the Criminal Code and concern: Crimes against the security of the State (chap. I, arts. 104-129); Crimes against the dignity of the President and Vice-President (chap. II, arts. 130-139); Crimes against public order (chap. V, arts. 154-181); Crimes against public authority (chap. VIII, arts. 207-241). Most of these provisions are, especially inasmuch as the intentional element of the crime is concerned, drafted in such general and vague terms that they can be used arbitrarily to restrict the freedoms of opinion, expression, assembly and association. They can be used notably to target the press, peaceful political opposition activities and trade unions, as they were frequently under the former regimes. 51. In this context, articles 154 to 157 (some provisions of which date back to the colonial period) which criminalize acts that give “expression to feelings of hostility, hatred or contempt against the Government of Indonesia” (art. 154) deserve particular mention. Another such provision is article 137 (relating to the crime of “lèse-majesté”), which targets insults against the President and the Vice-President. These provisions were frequently used to neutralize or intimidate any political opposition or members of trade unions. The majority of persons arrested and tried under these chapters of the Criminal Code under the regime of President Soeharto have now been released. However, these provisions remain in force and carry grave risks of arbitrary detentions, as long as they have not been abrogated or their content amended to make them compatible with international standards guaranteeing the freedoms of opinion and expression. C. Regulations and laws relating to amnesty 52. Article 14 of the Constitution confers upon the President of the Republic the right to grant mercy, amnesty and pardon. The exercise of these prerogatives is regulated by two framework laws: Law No. 1/1950, which gives the President the right of individual pardon, which he exercises on his own; Law No. 11/1954 (Law of Presidential Amnesty) which enables him, on a case-by-case basis, to grant reduction or remission of sentence. The decision to do so is taken by the President, on the advice of the Prosecutor-General and after consultation with an inter-ministerial committee. His decree is, in principle, published. It constitutes a measure of pardon more than an amnesty in the strict sense.