Jakarta, Jan. 4 -- Indonesia officially enacted its new National Criminal Code (KUHP) and Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) on January 2, marking a major milestone in the comprehensive reform of the criminal justice system of Southeast Asia's most populous nation.

The two new laws replace legal provisions that had been in place for decades, many of which originated in the colonial era and were widely criticised by experts and the public as outdated, rigid, and insufficiently reflective of modern rule-of-law values.

Speaking at the announcement ceremony, Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the promulgation of the new codes has definitively closed the chapter on Indone...