Legal Literacy - Pre-trial is a control mechanism of the District Court over certain actions of law enforcement officials in the criminal process. Its essence is to examine whether the actions of“coercive measures”—such as arrest, detention, search, seizure, and other actions that limit a person's rights—have been carried out in accordance with applicable legal corridors and procedures.

Due to its rapid nature and direct connection to the protection of human rights, pre-trial is often used when someone feels that the actions of officials are carried out without a basis or correct procedure. However, a tactical question often arises that confuses the public and practitioners: can pre-trial be filed more than once for the same case?

Normative Vacuum and Dynamics in the Era of the 1981 Criminal Procedure Code

Under the old Criminal Procedure Code regime (Law No. 8 of 1981), there was no rule that prescriptively stated that pre-trial for certain coercive measures may only be filed once. This space becomes more complex when the Constitutional Court through Decision No. 21/PUU-XII/2014 expands the object of pre-trial—not only regarding arrest, detention, and termination of investigation/prosecution, but also including determination of suspects, searches, and seizures.

The expansion of the object explains why the phenomenon of repeated applications is starting to emerge. In the same criminal case, the applicant can test different objects at different times (for example: testing the validity of detention first, then later testing the determination of the suspect). On the other hand, this practice also opens up space for a “serial pre-trial” strategy which in some cases is used to delay the prosecution process and trial agenda.