107TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE PARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF THE INDONESIAN PROSECUTION SERVICE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE Ersyiwo Zaimaru* I. INTRODUCTION The Prosecution Service (Kejaksaan) is composed of one Attorney General’s Office, Since prosecution has been realized as 27 the High Prosecution Offices and 296 a fundamental component of the criminal District Prosecution Offices. The Attorney justice system in addition to investigation, General Office is located in the capital of judgment and the execution of the judge’s the Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta, and its disposition, the Prosecution Service of the territorial jurisdiction covers the territory Republic of Indonesia also has a pivotal role of the Republic of Indonesia. The High and function in the Indonesian law Prosecution Office covers the territory of enforcement system. In other words, the the province and the District Prosecution Indonesian Prosecution Service is Office covers the territory of the district or indispensable in the Indonesian criminal the respective municipality and or an justice system. administrative city. It is clear that the This paper tries to describe concisely the Attorney General’s Office is the role and function of Indonesian prosecutors headquarters of the Indonesian in the criminal justice system. prosecution service. Furthermore, pursuant to Article 7, II. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE paragraph (1) of Act No. 5/1991, a branch AND ROLE OF THE INDONESIAN of the District Prosecution Office can be PROSECUTION SERVICE formed by the decree of Attorney General A. Position within the National after the State Minister of Administrative Organizational Structure and Its Reform has given his approval thereto. Independence and Neutrality This means that a branch of the District Prosecution Office is the lowest level in the 1. Position organizational structure of the Indonesian The Prosecution Service of the Republic Prosecution Service. of Indonesia is a government institution, The Indonesian Prosecution Service which is separated from the Ministry of itself is led by the Attorney General who is Justice and other criminal agencies. This appointed and dismissed by and institution has the main duty to execute responsible to the President of the Republic the state power in the field of prosecution of Indonesia. The Attorney General is the and other duties based upon the supreme leader in and responsible for the regulations and laws and to have a share Prosecution Service who controls over the in exercising a part of the general duty of execution of the duties and authority of the government and the development in the service. In conducting this daily job, he is field of law. assisted by one Vice Attorney General and six Deputy Attorney Generals. * Head of Sub Division for Monitoring, Division of The Attorney General and the Vice Cooperation for Foreign Legal Affairs, Bureau of Attorney General constitute a unity of Law and Public Relations, Attorney General’s leadership components. All Deputy Office, Indonesia. Attorney Generals are the components 201 RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 53 which support the leadership. As stated 2. Independence and Neutrality in Article 4 of the Presidential Decree No. In order for one to be appointed as a 55/1991, the structure of the Indonesian Public Prosecutor, according to Article 9 of Prosecution Service consists of: Act No. 5/1991 on Prosecution Service of (1) Attorney General; the Republic of Indonesia, inter alia, one (2) Vice Attorney General must be a civil servant, hold a university (3) Deputy Attorney General for degree in law, and pass the examination of Advancement; the education and training for the skill (4) Deputy Attorney General for profession of Public Prosecutor. Due to its Intelligence Affairs; status of being a civil servant, therefore (5) Deputy Attorney General for undoubtedly, every Indonesian public General Crimes; prosecutor is fully controlled by his/her (6) Deputy Attorney General for Special superiors. It can be seen in the actual Crimes; practice of prosecution of offenders that a (7) Deputy Attorney General for Civil public prosecutor in charge, before and Administrative Affairs; submitting his/her requisite charges, (8) Deputy Attorney General for should first ask the size of charges to the Supervision; head of the District Prosecution Office for (9) Centres; a case at the district level or the head of (10) Prosecution Offices at regional level the High Prosecution Office for a provincial which consists of: level case and the Attorney General for a a. High Prosecution Offices, and national level case. In other words, every b. District Prosecution Offices. Indonesian public prosecutor is fully controled by his/her superiors, which is In addition, the Indonesian Attorney referred to in Article 8, paragraph (2) in General has the level as same as a State the following words: Minister. Therefore, the Attorney General In instituting prosecution the Public as well as the commander-in-chief of the Prosecutor shall act for and on behalf Indonesian Armed Forces and the Minister of the state and be responsible to of Justice is a member of the Cabinet which hierarchical channel. is led directly by the President. In the Indonesian organizational As mentioned above, an Indonesian structure of national government, the public prosecutor is a government official. President and Vice President are elected In handling criminal cases, the execution by all members of the People’s Consultative of prosecution must be based upon the law Assembly (MPR), which is the highest and must always observe the sense of constitutional body. Under the 1945 justice in existence with the society by Constitution, the MPR convenes at least paying attention to the government policy. once every five years to elect the President The Indonesian public prosecutor shall act and Vice President and to adopt the broad as the government and the state officials outlines of state policy, which provide a in the execution of prosecution. This means framework for government policy that there is no neutrality for public directions. This body consists of all 500 prosecutor because the government members of the House of Representatives interest must be kept in the prosecution (Parliament) and 500 additional members against the offenders. In addition, the appointed by the government. The DPR Indonesian public prosecutor shall act as (Parliament) itself meets regularly and a State Attorney when there are civil and debates legislation submitted to it by the administrative actions against the state government. and government of the Republic of 202 107TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE PARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS Indonesia. It can be said that every Recently, there are about 5,000 public Indonesian public prosecutor must stand prosecutors, who serve prosecution. That by their government and their state. number also includes civil and administrative law enforcement. B. Appointment and Training of Public Prosecutors and the 2. Training and the Guarantee of Guarantee of Their Status Public Prosecutors Status The Centre for Education and Training 1. Appointment has the duty to execute the education and As mentioned before that is stipulated training in the environment of the in Article 9 of the Act No. 5/1991, in order Indonesian Prosecution Service by virtue for one to be appointed a public prosecutor, of law and regulation and the policy he shall have to fulfill the following determined by the Attorney General. This requirements: centre is a component in support of the duty (1) be an Indonesian Citizen; and function of the prosecution service, (2) be pious to the One Almighty God; while is under and directly responsible to (3)be loyal to Pancasila (state the Attorney General. philosophy) and the 1945 Education and training programs for Constitution; personnel of the prosecution service that (4) not be an ex-member of the banned is organized by the centre consists of Pre- Indonesia Communist Party, Service and In-Service programs that can including the mass organizations be seen in Table 1. thereof or not be a person directly In addition to the information of Table involved in the “Counter- 1, in-service programs consist of training Revolutionary Movement of programs on general administrative, September 30th/Indonesia structural, functional and technical Communist Party” or other banned education, and training for public organizations; prosecution candidates is a kind of (5) be a civil servant; functional training program. This technical (6) hold a university degree in law; education and training program may (7) be at least 25 years of age; consist of training of Intellectual Property (8) be authoritative, honest, just and not Rights, law enforcement in criminal cases, behave disgracefully; and and law enforcement in civil and (9) pass the examination of the education administrative cases, intelligence activities, and training for the skill profession etc. This kind of training can be an of Public Prosecutor. appropriate solution to overcome the Those requirements above are verified problems of insufficient qualified public in a selection process that is conducted by prosecutors dealing with new crimes which the Bureau of Personnel Affairs of the seem more sophisticated and organized. Attorney General’s Office. The goal of functional education and Prosecution service has recruited legal training programs is strengthening the personnel within the prosecution service. skills and professional capacities of public They must be law school graduates