Impunity Gaps in the Transition of Penal Codification: An Analysis of Intertemporal, Norm Interpretation, and Institutional Restructuring

Abstract

Does the reform of Indonesia's National Criminal Code (KUHP) risk creating gaps that allow impunity through divergent interpretations and fragmented institutional mandates? Drawing on doctrinal legal research, this article develops a prospective framework for preventing criminal proceedings from stalling when Law No. 1 of 2023 enters into force. The analysis identifies three principal vulnerabilities: inconsistent intertemporal classification of pending cases, regional variation in the application of living law, and discontinuities between investigation and prosecution. Formal continuity is secured because the former Criminal Code remains applicable until the new Code takes effect and because the new Code contains express lex mitior and pending-case rules. Nevertheless, legal continuity does not by itself ensure consistent administration. A national transitional protocol should therefore define temporal classification, require structured consultation between investigators and public prosecutors, establish auditable reasons for restorative-justice decisions, and standardise the evidentiary treatment of living law. Timely implementing regulations and integrated monitoring are necessary to protect legal certainty, due process, victims' interests, and equality before the law.