Juridical Analysis of the Status of Absolute Complaint Offenses for the Crime of Adultery and Cohabitation Based on the Criminal Code
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21096840Keywords:
Adultery, Cohabitation, New Criminal Code, Human Rights, Absolute Complaint OffensesAbstract
Abstract
This study examines the legal status of theabsolute complaint offense in the crimes of adultery and cohabitation based on the new Criminal Code (KUHP), namely Law No. 1 of 2023. Changes in criminal law norms include covering merely adultery (overspel) to the realm of living together without marriage ties (cohabitation). This expansion triggers, including regarding the limits of state intervention in the private sphere and the risk of the main judge's own actions (eigenrichting). This study aims to analyze the consistency of the regulation of the absolute complaint offense in the crimes of adultery and cohabitation with the new Criminal Code and identify violations of law enforcement and human rights. The research method used is a normative legal research method with a regulatory approach (statutory approach), a contextual approach (conceptual approach), and a historical approach (historical approach). Data collection was carried out through literature studies and document studies of secondary legal materials. The research findings indicate that the absolute complaint offense serves as a safeguarding procedure that limits
the authority of authorities to intervene indiscriminately in the private sphere by transferring the right to report only to the immediate family (husband/wife, parents, or children). However, this creates an imbalance between positive law and the sociological expectations of communal society (living law), thus triggering the risk of mass raids or the judge's own actions due to the limited scope of authority. This research concludes that this new regulation has the potential to become a purely symbolic rule that shifts the moral burden onto the immediate family. It is recommended that clear operational definitions be aligned to avoid misinterpretation in law enforcement.
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