Legal Literacy - This article discusses criminal law which includes an explanation of the term criminal act, the elements and components of a criminal act, and the classification of offenses within and outside the Criminal Code. Let's take a look at the explanation.
The Term “Criminal Act” in Criminal Law
In everyday conversation, there are many terms attached to describe an act prohibited by law, such as criminal acts or offenses. According to Prof. Didik Endro Purwoleksono, strafbaarfeit is more appropriately translated as a criminal act, which is also in accordance with the naming of several special criminal laws. The National Criminal Code is also only divided into two books, namely Book I on General Provisions and Book II on Criminal Acts.
Concept strafbaarfeit is divided into two, namely actus reus and mens rea. Actus reus is related to the principle of legality contained in Article 1 of the Criminal Code (KUHP), which determines whether an act constitutes a criminal offense or not. After that, then discuss about mens rea, namely whether the perpetrator of the crime can be held criminally liable.
This division is referred to as dualism, which is embraced by Prof. Moeljatno, Prof. Didik Endro, Prof. Roeslan Saleh, and others. In this view, every perpetrator of a crime cannot always be held accountable because the principle of geen straf zonder schuld. On the other hand, legal scholars of law such as Simon and Van Hammel argue that there is a unity between criminal acts and criminal responsibility, which is then known as the monistic understanding.
Elements and Components of Criminal Acts in Criminal Law
Prof. Didik explained that there are several elements of a criminal act, including:
Conduct and consequences (causality)
This can be reviewed in material offenses, such as Article 338 of the Criminal Code which prohibits the occurrence of death as a result of taking a life.
Circumstances or conditions accompanying the action
Van Hamel divides matters into two, namely concerning the perpetrator and outside the perpetrator. An example concerning the perpetrator is the subject of the norm, such as "state administrator" in the Law on Corruption or "mother" in the Criminal Code. On the other hand, an example outside the perpetrator is the element "in public" in the article on defamation in the Criminal Code.
Additional circumstances that aggravate the crime
This can be seen in several articles, including Article 351 paragraphs (2) and (3) of the Criminal Code, Article 363 of the Criminal Code, Article 340 of the Criminal Code, and so on.
Elements of objective unlawfulness
For example, the element of "damage to goods" in Article 486 of the Criminal Code can be interpreted as damage to an item being punishable if it does not belong to the perpetrator or does not have the consent of the owner of the item.
Elements of subjective unlawfulness
For example, the element "with the intention of owning" in Article 362 of the Criminal Code is the perpetrator's state of mind, so it is subjective.
Classification of Offenses in the Criminal Code
The division of types of criminal acts began to be known in Article 1 of the Code Penal of France into three, namely crimes, violations, and reprehensible acts. This division was adopted in the Dutch Criminal Code into misdoden, wanbedrijven, and infractions. When the WvS was to be enforced in Indonesia through the principle of concordance, wanbedrijven merging into the other two types, leaving crimes and violations.
The classification of offenses in the Criminal Code is divided into rechtsdelichten (crimes) contained in Book II and wetdelichten (violations) contained in Book III. The description of the differences between the two is as follows.
[ninja_tables id="5902"]Classification of Offenses Outside the Criminal Code
In addition to what is regulated in the Criminal Code, in its development, another classification of offenses is known based on varying factors, including:
- Dolus offenses are offenses committed intentionally, for example Article 338 and Article 351 of the Criminal Code which contain the element of “intentionally” in them.
- Culpa offenses are offenses that occur due to the perpetrator's negligence, such as Article 359 and Article 360 of the Criminal Code.
- Formal offenses are offenses that are fulfilled if the action meets the elements of the article. This offense focuses on prohibited acts, such as Article 362, Article 209, and Article 247 of the Criminal Code.
- Material offenses are offenses that are fulfilled if the prohibited consequence occurs. This offense focuses on prohibited consequences, such as Article 338, Article 340, and Article 187 of the Criminal Code.
- Commission offenses are offenses committed actively, for example Article 362 and Article 338 of the Criminal Code.
- Omission offenses are offenses committed passively, for example Article 164 and Article 531 of the Criminal Code.
- Offense Commisionis per Ommissionem Commissa is a non-pure offense, such as Articles 306 and 307 of the Criminal Code.
- An Independent Offense is an offense consisting of one act, for example, Articles 362 and 351 of the Criminal Code. This offense is also the same as a Completed Offense.
- A Continuous Offense is an offense consisting of several acts, each of which stands alone, but are interconnected so that they are considered one continuous act, for example, Article 221 of the Criminal Code.
- A Single Offense is an offense that is sufficiently committed with one act, for example, Article 480 of the Criminal Code.
- A Qualified Offense is an ordinary offense that is added with other elements that aggravate or mitigate the criminal threat of the ordinary offense, including Article 365, Article 340, and Article 341 of the Criminal Code.
- A Political Offense is an offense aimed at the security of the state and for state officials.
- A Common Offense is an offense for the general public.
Read also the Legal Literacy article which Types of Offenses in Criminal Law and In-Depth Understanding of 10 Types of Offenses in Criminal Law
In addition to the above division, there is another type of offense that is often misunderstood by the public, namely a complaint offense. A complaint offense is an offense whose investigation process depends on the consent of the injured party. Complaint offenses are divided into two, namely absolute complaint offenses and relative complaint offenses.
An absolute complaint offense is a crime that requires a complaint from the victim directly, for example, the offense of defamation or adultery. On the other hand, a relative complaint offense is a crime that only becomes a complaint offense under certain circumstances, for example, theft within a family. This is done to prevent division among families.
The party entitled to file a complaint offense is the victim, but if they are not of sufficient age or are under guardianship, then the party entitled is the legal curator according to civil law (vide Article 72 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code). If there is none, then it is submitted by the supervisory guardian or supervisory guardian (vide Article 72 paragraph (2) of the Criminal Code). If the victim has died, then the entitled party is the child or surviving spouse (vide Article 73 of the Criminal Code). Nevertheless, the victim's daily life must still be considered as the basis for whether the victim would have reported the matter if they were still alive.
According to Article 74 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code, the time limit for reporting for the party entitled to report, if residing in Indonesia, is six months, while it is four months if residing abroad. Specifically, Article 293 paragraph (3) of the Criminal Code stipulates the deadline for reporting.
Article 75 of the Criminal Code allows for the withdrawal of a report no later than three months after the report was made, but for the crime of adultery, Article 284 paragraph (4) of the Criminal Code applies, which allows for withdrawal until the case enters the trial. However, once a report has been withdrawn, it cannot be resubmitted in order to create legal certainty and maintain the dignity of the court.
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