Civil vs. Military Justice: A Case Study of the Acid Attack on a KontraS Activist

By Aditya Hasiholan Purba

29 Mar 2026 06:42 WIB 29 March 2026 06:42 WIB 3 minutes reading time: 3 minutes 1 read

Acid attack case of a KontraS activist: civil vs. military jurisdiction? What are the implications for justice & legal transparency for civilians?

Ilustrasi Peradilan Sipil Vs Militer (Source: AI)

Articles on the Public Space channel are writings/opinions from contributors. The content of the writing is the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the editors. The editors may carry out curation and editing as necessary without changing the substance.

Submit Article Author Guidelines

Table of Contents

Jurisdictional Barriers: Civil or Military?
Weak Points of the Military Court in General Criminal Cases
1. Accessibility and Transparency
2. Independence of Judges
3. Disparity of Sentences
Justice Must Not Be Fragmented

Section 2/3: 1. Accessibility and Transparency

1. Accessibility and Transparency

Military trials are often more difficult for the general public and victims' families to access compared to general courts.

2. Independence of Judges

Military judges are active officers bound by a command hierarchy. In cases involving sensitive issues or alleged orders from superiors (intellectual actors), objectivity can be at stake.

3. Disparity of Sentences

There are concerns that the sentences imposed place more emphasis on administrative sanctions (dismissal) than imprisonment commensurate with the suffering. Ideally, in cases like this, the mechanism of the Joint Court System could be a middle ground. However, the ideal is to implement the mandate of the Reform through Law Number 34 of 2004 concerning the TNI, which states that soldiers who commit general crimes must be subject to the authority of the general court. Unfortunately, this article has not been effective as long as the Military Court Law has not been revised.

The Andrie Yunus case should be a momentum for the Government and the DPR to immediately complete the revision of the Military Court Law. We must not allow "impunity in uniform" or the perception that there are groups that are immune to the law in the eyes of the civil public.