Crime and Punishment in Indonesia

Indonesias criminal law system faces major challenges. Despite the countrys transition to democracy, both the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code are badly out of date, the former only superficially changed since colonial times and the latter remaining as it was under Soehartos authoritarian New Order regime.

Law enforcement officers and judges are widely seen as corrupt or incompetent, and new laws, including new Islamic laws passed at the regional level, often contradict the Criminal Code and national statutes, including human rights laws.

This book, based on extensive original research by leading scholars in the field, provides an overall assessment of the state of criminal law, law enforcement and penal policy in Indonesia, considers in depth a wide range of specific areas of criminal law, and discusses recent efforts at reform and their prospects for success.