The Indonesian Penal Code (, WvS), commonly known in Indonesian as (, derived from Dutch), abbreviated as KUH Pidana or KUHP), were laws and regulations that form the basis of criminal law in Indonesia. By deviating as necessary from Presidential Regulation dated 10 October 1945 No. 2, it stipulated that the criminal law regulations that are in effect were the Dutch criminal law regulations that existed on 8 March 1942. Currently, the Republic of Indonesia has its own Criminal Code, which came into effect in 2026.
History The Criminal Code, also known in Indonesian as KUHP or in Dutch as Wetboek van Strafrecht, are laws and regulations that regulate criminal acts in Indonesia. The Criminal Code that is currently in force is the Criminal Code which originates from Dutch colonial law, namely Wetboek van Strafrecht voor Nederlands-Indië. The ratification was carried out through the Staatsblad of 1915 number 732 and came into effect on 1 January 1918. After Indonesian independence from the Dutch in 1945, the Criminal Code is retained and are enforced by an alignment of conditions in the form of revocation of articles that were no longer relevant. This is based on the Transitional Provisions of Article II of the 1945 Constitution, which states that: "All existing state bodies and regulations are immediately enforced as long as new ones have not been enacted according to this Constitution." It was these provisions that later became the legal basis for the enforcement of all statutory regulations during the colonial period to the independence period.
To reaffirm the enforcement of criminal law during those colonial period, on 26 February 1946, the government then issued Law Number 1 of 1946 concerning Criminal Law Regulations. This law was then used as the legal basis for changing "Wetboek van Strafrecht voor Nederlands-Indië" to "Wetboek van Strafrecht" (WvS), which became known as the Indonesian Criminal Code. Nevertheless, in Article XVII of the act, there is also a provision which states that: "This law shall take effect for the islands of Java and Madura on the day it is announced and for other regions on the day to be determined by the President." Thus, the application of Wetboek van Strafrecht voor Nederlands-Indië to Wetboek van Strafrecht is only limited to the regions of Java and Madura. The enactment of the Criminal Code throughout the territory of the Republic of Indonesia was only carried out on 20 September 1958, with the promulgation of Law no. 73 of 1958 declaring the Applicability of Law Number 1 of 1946 of the Republic of Indonesia in regards to Criminal Law Regulations for the Entire Territory of the Republic of Indonesia, and thus amending the Criminal Code. As stated in Article 1 of Law no. 7 of 1958 which reads: "Law No. 1 of 1946 of the Republic of Indonesia concerning Criminal Law Regulations declared applicable to the entire territory of the Republic of Indonesia.
Books and chapters +First Book: on General ProvisionsChapters No.Chapters (in English)Chapters (in Indonesian)ArticlesIExtent of Operations of the Statutory Criminal ProvisionsBatas-batas Berlakunya Aturan Pidana dalam Perundang-undanganArt. 1-9IICriminal PunishmentsPidanaArt. 10-43IIIExclusion, Mitigation, and Enhancement of Criminal PunishmentsHal-hal yang Menghapuskan, Mengurangi atau Memberatkan PidanaArt. 44-52aIVAttempts to Commit Criminal ActionsPercobaanArt. 53-54VParticipation in Criminal ActionsPenyertaan dalam Tindak PidanaArt. 55-62VIConjunction in Criminal ActionsPerbarengan Tindak PidanaArt. 63-71VIIFiling and Withdrawing of Complaints for Crimes Prosecuted only upon ComplaintMengajukan dan Menarik Kembali Pengaduan dalam Hal Kejahatan-kejahatan yang Hanya Dituntut atas PengaduanArt. 72-75VIIILapse of Authority to Prosecute and to Carry Out Criminal PunishmentsHapusnya Kewenangan Menuntut Pidana dan Menjalankan PidanaArt. 76-85IXTerminologies Used in the Criminal CodeIstilah-istilah dalam KUHPArt. 86-102 -Concluding ProvisionsAturan PenutupArt. 103 +Second Book: on CrimesChapters No.Chapters (in English)Chapters (in Indonesian)ArticlesICrimes Against State SecurityKejahatan Terhadap Keamanan NegaraArt. 104-129IICrimes Against Dignity of the President and the Vice PresidentKejahatan-kejahatan Terhadap Martabat Presiden dan Wakil PresidenArt. 130-139IIICrimes Against Cordial Foreign States, Their Leaders, and Their AgentsKejahatan-kejahatan Terhadap Negara Sahabat dan Terhadap Kepala Negara Sahabat Serta WakilnyaArt. 139a-145IVCrimes Against Performance of State Duties and RightsKejahatan Terhadap Melakukan Kewajiban dan Hak KenegaraanArt. 146-153VCrimes Against Public OrderKejahatan Terhadap Ketertiban UmumArt. 153-181VIFighting ChallengesPerkelahian TandingArt. 182-186VIICrimes Against Safety of Other Persons and PropertyKejahatan yang Membahayakan Keamanan Umum bagi Orang atau BarangArt. 187-206VIIICrimes Against Public AuthorityKejahatan Terhadap Penguasa UmumArt. 207-241IXPerjury and False TestimonySumpah Palsu dan Keterangan PalsuArt. 242-243XCounterfeit of Currencies and BanknotesPemalsuan Mata Uang dan Uang KertasArt. 244-252XIForgeries of Seals and MarksPemalsuan Meterai dan MerekArt. 253-262XIIForgeries of DocumentsPemalsuan SuratArt. 263-276XIIICrimes Against Persons' Origins and MarriageKejahatan Terhadap Asal-Usul dan PerkawinanArt. 277-280XIVCrimes Against DecencyKejahatan Terhadap KesusilaanArt. 281-303XVFailure over Duty to RescueMeninggalkan Orang yang Perlu DitolongArt. 304-309XVIDefamationsPenghinaanArt. 310-321XVIIRevelations of SecretsMembuka RahasiaArt. 322-323XVIIICrimes Against Personal LibertyKejahatan Terhadap Kemerdekaan OrangArt. 324-337XIXCrimes Against LifeKejahatan Terhadap NyawaArt. 338-350XXMistreatmentPenganiayaanArt. 351-358XXICausing Death or Bodily Harm due to NegligenceMenyebabkan Mati atau Luka-luka Karena KealpaanArt. 359-361XXIITheftPencurianArt. 362-367XXIIIExtortion and BlackmailPemerasan dan PengancamanArt. 368-371XXIVEmbezzlementPenggelapanArt. 372-377XXVFraudPerbuatan CurangArt. 378-395XXVIInjury to Creditors or Rightful ClaimantsPerbuatan Merugikan Pemiutang atau Orang yang Mempunyai HakArt. 396-405XXVIIProperty Damage or DestructionMenghancurkan atau Merusakkan BarangArt. 406-412XXVIIICrimes by OfficialsKejahatan JabatanArt. 413-478XXIXMaritime CrimesKejahatan PelayaranArt. 438-479XXIX-AAviation Crimes Crimes and Against Aviation Facilities and InfrastructureKejahatan Penerbangan dan Kejahatan Terhadap Sarana/Prasarana PenerbanganArt. 479a-479rXXXPossession of Stolen Goods, as well as Crimes in Publication and PrintsPenadahan Penerbitan dan PercetakanArt. 480-485XXXIProvisions Relating to RecidivismAturan tentang Pengulangan Kejahatan yang Bersangkutan dengan Berbagai-bagai BabArt. 486-488 +Third Book: on MisdemeanorsChapters No.Chapters (in English)Chapters (in Indonesian)ArticlesIMisdemeanors Against Persons, Property, and Public HealthTentang Pelanggaran Keamanan Umum bagi Orang atau Barang dan KesehatanArt. 489-502IIMisdemeanors Against Public OrderPelanggaran Ketertiban UmumArt. 503-520IIIMisdemeanors Against Public AuthorityPelanggaran Terhadap Penguasa UmumArt. 521-528IVMisdemeanors Against Persons' Origins and MarriagePelanggaran Mengenai Asal-Usul dan PerkawinanArt. 529-530VMisdemeanors Against the Duty to RescuePelanggaran Terhadap Orang yang Memerlukan PertolonganArt. 531VIMisdemeanors Against DecencyPelanggaran KesusilaanArt. 532-547VIIMisdemeanors Concerning Land, Vegetations, and PremisesPelanggaran Mengenai Tanah, Tanaman dan PekaranganArt. 548-551VIIIMisdemeanors by OfficialsPelanggaran JabatanArt. 552-559IXMisdemeanors in NavigationPelanggaran PelayaranArt. 560-569
Revision Article of witchcraft Article 293 of the Draft Criminal Code reads:
Criminal law expert Barda Nawawi Arief, who took part in drafting the policy, said that this article is an extension of Article 162 of the Criminal Code which regulates the prohibition of assisting in criminal acts, which reads "Anyone who publicly orally or in writing offers to provide information, opportunity, or means to commit a criminal act, shall be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 9 months or a fine of up to Rp. 400,500."
Although political figure Eva Sundari of the PDI-P party thinks that the law will find it difficult to prove someone has the power of witchcraft, so much so that this article is prone to criminalization, criminal law expert from the University of Indonesia, Andi Hamzah, says that the proof does not require the pleader to bring a supernatural experts or priest, but to only bring witnesses who hear that someone claims to be capable of practicing witchcraft.
The pros and cons of the witchcraft act have appeared since the 1990s. Because of this, to deepened the understanding of the article on witchcraft, the People's Representative Council (DPR) conducted a comparative study to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.
Withdrawal On 6 December 2022, the People's Representative Council voted to approve a new criminal code for Indonesia on the basis of decolonization, which repeals the old criminal code and its amendments. Initially, the new code was supposed to pass in 2019, yet amid a mass street demonstration across the country, the process was ultimately halted as the Indonesian President Joko Widodo had asked Parliament to revise problematic clauses. The protest comes as the new criminal code introduced some controversial new laws, such as banning unmarried couple to cohabit; banning the defamation of the president, government ministers and agencies; banning of demonstration without notice; the witchcraft act (article 252); the privacy act (article 412), etc. Some human right experts has even called it: "a step backward in Indonesian democracy".
The new penal code contains 624 articles, which the government claimed it had spent the past years gathering feedback from stakeholders, experts and the public following a nationwide protest against the code in 2019. The new code, which applies to Indonesians and foreigners alike, will not take immediate effect, but instead, three years after the bill is enacted into law, in which opponents can file requests for judicial review of the code to the Constitutional Court.
See also Indonesian criminal procedure
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