On 2nd January 2023, the Indonesian Criminal Code was finally ratified into Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning regulation in Indonesia (“Law 1/2023”). The objective of enacting Law 1/2023 is to replace Law Number 1 of 1946 concerning Criminal Regulation (“Law 1/1946”), which was notable as the colonial Criminal Code. Article 622 Paragraph (1) of Law 1/2023 stipulates that after the Law 1/2023 comes into effect, Law 1/1946 shall be revoked. The ratification of Law 1/2023 marks the beginning of the transition to the new era of Indonesian criminal law.

Although Law 1/2023 has been ratified, it has yet come into effect. Article 624 of Law 1/2023 stipulates that Law 1/2023 will come into effect three years after its ratification. Ratified on 2nd January 2023, Law 1/2023 will come into effect on 2nd January 2026. During those three years, Law 1/1946 will still be effective and implemented as the applicable law in Indonesia.

There are some fundamental changes made in Law 1/2023. One of the most important changes to be noted is the stipulation of corporate criminal liability and corporate crime as stipulated under Article 45 to Article 50 of Law 1/2023. This stipulation enables an enterprise to be held accountable for conducting general crime. Furthermore, another noteworthy change is the use of the category system in Law 1/2023. The category system is used to determine the amount of a fine. In conjunction to this system, it is deemed to be unnecessary to nominalize a criminal sanction regarding fines as adopted under Law 1/1946, but rather using category system

If you, a prospective client, have further inquiries about the topic explained above, Schinder Law Firm is one of many corporate law firms in Indonesia that have handled a lot of similar matters, with many experienced and professional civil lawyers and dispute lawyers in its arsenal, making it one of the top consulting firms in Indonesia. Feel free to contact us at info@schinderlawfirm.com for further consultation.

Author: Budhi Satya Makmur