Attorney General's Office Respects Constitutional Court's Approval of Military Justice Law Challenge

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) respects the Constitutional Court's ruling granting the petition against Law No. 31 of 1997 on Military Justice.

"First and foremost, we certainly respect the decision of the Constitutional Court, which demonstrates a desire to resolve the civil-military dichotomy," said Deputy Attorney General Asep Nana Mulyana at the Kartini Hall in Jakarta on Tuesday (20/10/2026).

Asep spoke following a National Seminar titled "Legal Protection for Victims of Crimes: Development of Collective Compensation Mechanism that Provides Legal Certainty and Justice."

The Constitutional Court ordered that the Military Justice Law be amended within a maximum of two years, ensuring that military personnel facing general criminal charges are tried in civilian courts rather than military courts.

Asep stated that the ruling reflects the principle of equality before the law.

He expressed hope that future legal approaches would not differentiate legal subjects in a partial manner.

"This means we will no longer see separations between legal subjects based on the provisions set forth in the law," he continued.

In response to the two-year deadline for revising the law set by the Constitutional Court, Asep remained confident that the target can be achieved.

The existence of the Deputy Attorney General for Military Crime (Jampidmil) is seen as a vital asset for balancing and bridging dealings with interconnected cases.

"We also have the Military Attorney General. This actually serves as a bridging point when there’s a connection between cases involving different legal subjects, civilians and military personnel. Therefore, Jampidmil acts as the bridge," he explained.

Meanwhile, when asked about the fate of cases previously adjudicated in military courts, the Deputy Attorney General stated that they will continue to monitor developments closely.

Constitutional Court's Ruling on Military Justice Law

Previously, the Constitutional Court declared Law No. 31 of 1997 on Military Justice to be conditionally unconstitutional unless amended within two years from the ruling.

"The ruling states that it grants the requests of the petitioners in full," is how the first part of the ruling reads.

The second part asserts that Law 31/1997 on Military Justice contradicts the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

In its legal reasoning, the Constitutional Court opined that using civilian courts for general criminal acts committed by TNI soldiers could prevent the risk of impunity.

"Therefore, the Court concluded that military justice derives its legitimacy from the specificity of military cases; when no such specificity exists, the underlying reason to maintain military jurisdiction loses its foundation," the ruling stated.