The Criminal Offense of Adultery under Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Indonesian Penal Code: A Normative Comparison and Litigation Implications
Keywords:
adultery, complaint delict, proof, National Criminal Code, litigationAbstract
This research discusses the crime of adultery in the National Criminal Code based on Article 411 of Law Number 1 of 2023. The main focus of the research is to analyze the regulation of the crime of adultery, the comparison of elements with the old Criminal Code, the implications of the changes for the litigation process, as well as the challenges of proof and the role of evidence in adultery cases. This normative legal research uses statutory, comparative, and case approaches with primary and secondary legal materials analyzed qualitatively through grammatical and systematic interpretation. The results of the research indicate that Article 411 of the National Criminal Code has undergone significant changes from Article 284 of the old Criminal Code in terms of the expansion of legal subjects, the increase in criminal penalties, the expansion of parties entitled to file complaints, and the abolition of the requirement for a divorce petition. The nature of an absolute complaint delict is maintained so that a complaint constitutes an absolute prerequisite for prosecution. The regulatory changes have implications for litigation strategies and require the adaptation of law enforcement officials. The challenges of proof remain a major obstacle because the crime of adultery is often committed covertly without eyewitnesses. This research recommends enhancing the understanding of law enforcement officials and drafting technical guidelines for the application of Article 411 of the National Criminal Code.
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