Arresting a due process revolution: The reform of Indonesia’s code of criminal procedure and the persistence of history

The fall of the Suharto regime in 1998 precipitate an era of reformasi, or general political and legal reforms in Indonesia. As reformasi envisaged democracy and liberal politics, both Indonesian and international actors called for the overhaul of the Code of Criminal Procedure, or Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Acara Pidana (KUHAP), arguing that KUHAP was a relic from an authoritarian age, unfit for a newly democratizing nation. Notwithstanding Indonesia’s adoption of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture as well as institutional reforms during reformasi that made reform of the criminal procedure likely at that time, KUHAP remains in force to this day. This chapter explores the significance of KUHAP’s survival, the persistent influence of colonialism and authoritarianism on the criminal justice system, and contemporary factors that keep the prospects of KUHAP reform bleak.