UNDIP, Semarang (July 24, 2025) – The renewal of the Indonesian Code of Criminal Procedure (RKUHAP) is a critical element of national legal reform aimed at addressing justice, effectiveness, and human rights protection in law enforcement. One of the central issues in this reform is strengthening the institutional role of the Prosecutor’s Office as dominus litis (the controller of criminal cases), which has sparked discourse and debate over the expansion of its roles and authority within the criminal justice system.
In response, the Faculty of Law at Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP), in collaboration with the Prosecutor’s Office of Jawa Tengah, held a national seminar titled “Welcoming the Renewal of the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) through Strengthening the Role of the Prosecutor’s Office in Realizing the Integrity of Indonesia’s Criminal Justice System.” The hybrid event took place on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at the 3rd floor Hall of the PKM Building, Prof. Purwahid Patrik, S.H. Building, UNDIP Tembalang Campus, Semarang.
In her opening remarks, Prof. Dr. Retno Saraswati, S.H., M.Hum., Dean of UNDIP’s Faculty of Law, emphasized the importance of revising the KUHAP draft bill as a key opportunity to reinforce the Prosecutor’s Office within the justice system. She noted that this topic aligns closely with the need for justice-based legal reform.
“A key issue in the KUHAP draft that we are raising today is the institutional strengthening of actors within the criminal justice system—particularly the Prosecutor’s Office, which is the sole public prosecution body and plays a strategic role in the system,” she stated.
She also expressed hope that the forum would make a meaningful contribution to the legislative process. “This discussion should generate input for the KUHAP bill, so it truly becomes a law that fosters justice in Indonesia’s law enforcement,” she added.
Dr. Hendro Dewanto, S.H., M.Hum., Head of the Prosecutor’s Office of Jawa Tengah, echoed this sentiment, underscoring the need for a renewed KUHAP that fosters synergy among law enforcement agencies through an integrated approach to criminal justice. He stressed the importance of clear and proportional legal norms to ensure complementary—not competitive—powers.
“We need balanced, proportional authority—not a matter of who is more powerful, but how each authority complements the others for optimal outcomes,” he said. He also encouraged the UNDIP’s Faculty of Law to take the lead in advancing a legal paradigm that is integrated and responsive to contemporary enforcement challenges.
UNDIP Rector Prof. Dr. Suharnomo, S.E., M.Si., who formally opened the seminar, highlighted the vital role of higher education in upholding academic dignity and promoting justice in society. “May this also restore and elevate the honor of our academic and legal institutions. Let us play our part in maintaining and strengthening the public’s sense of justice,” he said.
The seminar featured the Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Sanitiar Burhanuddin, S.H., M.M., as the keynote speaker. In his address, Prof. Burhanuddin emphasized the strategic importance of renewing criminal procedure laws to build a fairer and more adaptive justice system. He also underscored the need to strengthen the role of the Prosecutor’s Office across all stages of criminal proceedings—from investigation to execution of verdicts—as an institutional duty to uphold justice and legal certainty. “This forum represents a tangible collaboration between practitioners and academics in supporting legal reform to build a humanistic, modern, adaptive, and research-based criminal justice system,” he said.
The national seminar was divided into two sessions. The first featured three speakers: Prof. Dr. Asep N. Mulyana, S.H., M.Hum., Deputy Attorney General for General Crimes, who discussed challenges in reforming KUHAP; Prof. Dr. Pujiyono, S.H., M.Hum., a professor from UNDIP’s Faculty of Law, who addressed the harmonization of KUHAP with the philosophical foundation of the national Criminal Code (KUHP); and Prof. Dr. Pujiono Suwadi, S.H., M.H., a professor from Universitas Sebelas Maret and Chair of the Prosecutorial Commission, who examined the optimization of the Prosecutor’s Office within the criminal justice system.
The second session featured Dr. Irma Cahyaningtyas, S.H., M.H. (UNDIP’s Faculty of Law), who presented research on the principle of functional differentiation in the role of dominus litis; Dr. Febby M. Nelson, S.H., M.H. (Universitas Indonesia), who discussed the link between functional differentiation and systemic integrity; and Maidina Rahmawati, S.H., LL.M. (Institute for Criminal Justice Reform), who explored the challenges of applying this principle and the broader issue of system integration.
Approximately 130 in-person participants attended the event, including academics, students, legal practitioners, and law enforcement officials from various universities and institutions across Jawa Tengah. Additionally, around 900 online participants from prosecution offices throughout Indonesia joined via YouTube and Zoom livestreams.
The forum is expected to generate academic and practical policy recommendations that contribute to the national legislative process on criminal procedure law and strengthen collaboration between educational institutions and law enforcement agencies to build a more modern, human rights–based criminal justice system. (Public Communication/ UNDIP/ Hng)
