Legal Literacy - This article discusses the meaning and relevance of the principle Dominus Litis in the criminal justice system in Indonesia. This principle demonstrates the position Prosecution Office as the controller of cases and the only body authorized to determine whether a case is suitable to be submitted to court according to the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP). This article also discusses the involvement of the Attorney General's Office in the law enforcement process and how the application of this principle can improve the professionalism and integrity of Prosecutors in the public eye in prosecuting criminal cases.
In order to realize justice and legal certainty and uphold human rights, the Attorney General's Office as an institution in the field of prosecution in the criminal justice system participates and has a strategic involvement. However, in reality, problems often arise in the Attorney General's Office itself, such as the back-and-forth sending of case files from Police investigators to the Attorney General's Office due to the rigid compartmentalization of regions in the KUHAP. Whereas based on the Dominus Litis principle, the Attorney General's Office is the main state organ in controlling cases and is the only institution that can determine whether a case can be submitted to the next stage. The implementation of this principle can be seen when the Prosecutor is given the authority to conduct investigations together with Police investigators.
The Meaning of the Dominus Litis Principle
According to Article 11 of the UN Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, prosecutors must play an active role in the criminal justice process, including prosecuting, investigating and supervising the validity of the investigation, supervising the implementation of court decisions, and carrying out other functions based on the law independently. The meaning of "prosecuting" is the position of the Attorney General's Office as the single prosecution system in the criminal justice system.
The existence of the Prosecutor's authority in Indonesia to prosecute is closely related to the Dominus Litis principle. Etymologically, “dominus” comes from Latin, which means “owner,” while “litis” means “case.” Thus, if translated, “dominus litis” means “controller of the case.” The consequence of this principle is that the public prosecutor is the controller of the case and the only body authorized to determine whether a case is suitable or not to be submitted to the court according to the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP). Furthermore, in line with the principle that the prosecutor's office is one and indivisible (een en ondelbaar), then no institution can carry out the prosecution duties for and on behalf of the state.
The Relevance of the Dominus Litis Principle in the Criminal Justice System in Indonesia
In the criminal justice system, integration (integrated) in law enforcement is considered more effective and efficient than law enforcement that operates independently (disintegrated), furthermore, integration needs to be followed by every law enforcer to provide a sense of justice to the community.
The Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) has provided a detailed explanation of the duties starting from the police as investigators, the prosecutor's office as public prosecutors and executors of court decisions, and judges as adjudicators of criminal cases. According to M. Yahya Harahap, the criminal justice system outlined in the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) is an Integrated Criminal Justice System.
The position of the Prosecutor as Dominus Litis in the criminal justice system in Indonesia is able to create a synergistic relationship between law enforcement officials in order to carry out law enforcement duties that are able to guarantee the realization of legal certainty, justice and expediency. This is because the Prosecutor, as the main figure in the administration of criminal justice, is more proficient in juridical matters and has the exclusive primary right to contact the court.
The application of the Dominus Litis principle needs to be implemented correctly and appropriately, so that the concept of the criminal justice system can be implemented in the workings of the sub-system in criminal justice and increase the professionalism and integrity of the Prosecutor in the eyes of the public in prosecuting criminal cases.
The existence of the Dominus Litis principle in the prosecution of criminal acts that occur today is clear and limitative, and is stated in the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), Law Number 11 of 2021 concerning Amendments to Law Number 16 of 2004 concerning the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Indonesia, as well as its technical implementing regulations which are stated in the Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia Regulation Number PER-067/A/JA/07/2007 concerning the Code of Conduct for Prosecutors, Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia Regulation Number PER-069/A/JA/07/2007 concerning Provisions for the Implementation of Supervision of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Indonesia, Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia Regulation Number PER-36/A/JA/09/2011 concerning Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Handling General Crime Cases.
Considering this, it becomes increasingly clear and firm that the regulation has formulated the authority of prosecution at the Prosecutor's Office which is absolute, thus confirming that the Dominus Litis principle has an important role in the implementation of the duties and authorities of prosecution against the occurrence of criminal acts by the Prosecutor as the public prosecutor.
The strengthening of the existence of the Dominus Litis principle is reflected in the Constitutional Court Decision (MK) Number: 130/PUU-XIII/2015 dated January 11, 2017, where Investigators are obliged to submit a Notification Letter on the Commencement of Investigation (SPDP) to the Public Prosecutor within 7 (seven) days after the issuance of the SPDP. Based on the Constitutional Court's decision, the authority of a Prosecutor is to act as a public prosecutor and executor of court decisions. This is related to the Public Prosecutor as the party who has the burden of proving the defendant's guilt in the criminal justice system in accordance with the basic principles of evidence as explained in Article 66 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Potential Conflicts in the Application of the Dominus Litis Principle
The Dominus Litis principle has the potential to increase effectiveness at the preliminary examination stage before being examined in court (pre-adjudication) where there is a shared responsibility between investigators, investigators, and public prosecutors in preparing files before going to court and there are no barriers between institutions in handling a case. In the Dominus Litis principle, the Prosecutor's Office is considered the "master of the case" in a case. This also needs to be emphasized by the formulation of the Dominus Litis principle in the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code.
So far, legal culture in the implementation of the pre-adjudication stage provides its own limitations between the Police as investigators and investigators and the Prosecutor as the public prosecutor. Before the case proceeds to the adjudication stage (trial examination), the public prosecutor is fully responsible for matters relating to prosecution files before the court. This is stated in Article 137 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Although the Prosecutor's Office is given the authority to prepare pre-adjudication files, there is still potential for conflict if the Dominus Litis principle is applied, especially potential conflicts between Investigators and Public Prosecutors, such as:
Misunderstandings among Law Enforcers in Preparing Prosecution Files
In practice, the Police (investigators and investigators) are given more dominant power in preparing pre-adjudication files. With the Dominus Litis principle, the Prosecutor is given the same responsibility in preparing related files. If the Dominus Litis principle is applied, it can lead to misunderstandings between the police and prosecutors regarding the culture of preparing pre-adjudication files.
Standardization of Prosecution Files
In order to cut time in preparing prosecution files, the Prosecutor needs to be involved in the investigation. The dominus litis principle signifies that the Prosecutor is the master of a case. Therefore, there needs to be collaboration from the Police and the Prosecutor's Office in preparing pre-adjudication files because the Prosecutor also has the authority to know, supervise and provide opinions on a case.
References
- Effendi, Tolib. Criminal Justice System: A Comparison of Components and Processes of Criminal Justice Systems in Several Countries. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Yustisia, 2013.
- Perbawa, Gede. “Policy Criminal Law Regarding the Existence of the Dominus Litis Principle in the Perspective of Professionalism and Proportionalism of Public Prosecutors.” Arena Hukum 7, no. 3 (December 1, 2014): 325–42.
- RM. Surachman, and Andi Hamzah. Prosecutors in Various Countries: Roles and Positions. Jakarta: Sinar Grafika, 1996.
- Yusni, Muhammad. “The Problematics of the Implementation of the Dominus Litis Principles in the Perspective of the Jurisdiction.” Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal) 3, no. 4 (2020).
*This article is the personal the personal views of the author and does not represent the views of the Indonesian Legal Literacy editorial team.
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