TREASON IN THE CONTEXT OF INDONESIAN CRIMINAL LAW

Abstract

Indonesian criminal law addresses treason in its Penal Code. Since the ruling regime frequently uses the Penal Code articles to criminalize political opponents or members of opposition groups, the articles are interpreted broadly by both prosecutors and courts. This research discusses the construction of Indonesian criminal law related to the definition and interpretation of treason used by the courts. A normative juridical approach was applied. It was found that Indonesian criminal law does not provide any clear definition of treason. Consequently, the courts rely on criminal law experts’ opinions. Some criminal law experts interpret treason as an incomplete attempt, while others interpret it as assault. Meanwhile, the courts interpret treason as any act intended to take the life of the president or vice president, undermine the government, or separate part of the Indonesian territory from the Republic of Indonesia, including conspiracy to commit one of these offenses. Since the courts do not put any limitation on the quality of the act, treason has been broadly interpreted and may even potentially include carrying the flag of a separatist group. In the future, the Penal Code needs to clarify the definition of treason so that it will not be interpreted too broadly.