Harmonization of the Regulation of Acquittes in the Indonesian Criminal Justice System After the National Kuhap

Abstract

The fundamental changes in Indonesian criminal procedure law through the ratification of Law Number 20 of 2025 concerning the Criminal Procedure Code (hereinafter referred to as the National Criminal Procedure Code), which came into effect on January 2, 2026, replacing Law Number 8 of 1981, have significant implications for the regulation of acquittals (vrijspraak) in the criminal justice system. For more than four decades, the regulation of acquittals under the old Criminal Procedure Code regime was marked by normative disharmony, particularly between the prohibition on cassation expressly stated in Article 244 and judicial practice that continued to accept cassation requests from the Public Prosecutor through the jurisprudential construction of "impure acquittals" (niet zuivere vrijspraak). This study aims to analyze how the National Criminal Procedure Code harmonizes the regulation of acquittals and identifies new legal issues that arise during the transition period of its implementation. The research uses a normative juridical method with a statute approach, a conceptual approach, and a case approach, supported by a search for primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. The results of the study indicate that the National Criminal Procedure Code firmly closes the gap in the doctrine of impure acquittal through Article 299 paragraph (2) letter a which prohibits cassation against acquittal without exception, reinforced by Supreme Court Circular Letter Number 4 of 2026. However, this harmonization has not been fully completed because new debates have arisen regarding the openness of appeals against acquittals due to the inconsistency of the formulation of Article 244 and Article 285 of the National Criminal Procedure Code, as well as the issue of the application of the transitional provisions of Article 361 letter c in cases ongoing during the transition period. This study recommends the need for further affirmation through implementing regulations and consistency of Supreme Court guidelines so that the principles of legal certainty, protection of the defendant's human rights, and balance of law enforcement interests can be fully realized.