Does the Indonesian criminal justice system allow foreign experts to testify in a trial?
Daftar Isi
INTISARI JAWABAN
There are no prohibitions for presenting foreign experts during criminal trials in Indonesia.
However, there are several things that need to be considered if you wish to present foreign experts, among others, which are provisions on immigration, taxation, and translators for said experts.
Please read the review below for a further explanation.
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Previously, regarding experts, there were often errors in the designation by referring to them as "expert witnesses." The term used by the law is “expert” so this needs to be clarified.
Under the principle of proof of the Criminal Procedure Law in Indonesia, as regulated in Article 183 Law Number 8 of 1981 on the Criminal Procedure Code (“Criminal Procedure Code”), a person may be subject to criminal punishment to a minimum of 2 valid pieces of evidence and the conviction of a judge.
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statement of a witness regarding a criminal act which he/she does not always hear by himself/herself, he/she sees by himself/herself, and he/she experiences it by himself/herself;
statement of expert;
letter;
clue/hint;
statement of the defendant.
Furthermore, Article 1 number 28Criminal Procedure Code explains that a statement of an expert is information provided by a person who has special expertise on matters needed to shed light on a criminal case for the purpose of examination.
According to Article 179of the Criminal Procedure Code, a statement of an expert may be sourced from medical jurisprudence experts, doctors, or other experts. Furthermore, as written in the article entitled Understanding the Duties of Forensic Doctors Behind Deaths, in practice, experts from Indonesia have also been acknowledged to be able to handle cases that have captured the attention of the international community, such as in the case of Bali bombings or suicide bombings in front of the Australian Embassy.
Foreign Experts
However, what if the defendant, through his/her attorney, wishes to present foreign experts for his/her defense purposes?
In order to obtain the ultimate truth in a trial, this request is legitimate and is not prohibited. However, based on practice, several points should be noted in this regard, as follows:
Firstly, based on practice, the defendant or his/her attorney should notify this matter to the panel of judges who examine the case along with the reasons for the presence of a foreign expert. The identity and expertise of the prospective expert should also be clarified, specifically based on the expert's publications which have been written in international journals that have been officially acknowledged by universities in Indonesia. In this submission, the panel of judges usually also ask for the opinion of the public prosecutor.
Secondly, if the application is approved by the panel of judges, the expert must also be present in accordance with the legal immigration regulations. According to Article 102 section (2) Regulation of the Government Number 31 of 2013 on the Regulation on the Implementation of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration (“Government Regulation 31/2013”), visas that can be obtained by experts or persons who carry out activities related to the profession by receiving payment are limited stay visas/temporary stay visas.
However, in addition to the abovementioned provisions, the presenting of experts must not be in contradiction with the principles of trial in Indonesia, which are simple, prompt, and low cost as affirmed in Article 2 section (4) Law Number 48 of 2009 on Judicial Authority (“Law 48/2009”).
These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.