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View all search resultsTop court narrows obstruction of justice provision
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Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo (center), together with his deputy Saldi Isra (second left) and three other Constitutional Court justices, Ridwan Mansyur (left), Anwar Usman (second right) and Enny Nurbaningsih, prepare to preside over a ruling hearing at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta on Jan. 19, 2026. (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
T
he Constitutional Court has closed a loophole in the Corruption Law’s provision on obstruction of justice, which could have been misused by law enforcement to target lawyers, journalists and activists.
The article in question penalizes anyone who intentionally obstructs, “directly or indirectly”, corruption investigations, prosecutions and court proceedings.
In a ruling on Monday, the court said that the term “directly or indirectly” in Article 21 was too vague to establish what constitutes a criminal offense.
“The phrase has the potential to be used to ensnare anyone deemed by law enforcement to have obstructed the legal process,” Justice Arsul Sani said.
The nine-member bench said that obstruction of justice could only be applied to acts already regulated by the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), including the use of physical force to interfere with the work of law enforcement or to interfere with testimony in court.
The judges added that the provision in question could not be applied to non-litigation advocacy by lawyers, reporting of ongoing corruption cases by journalists or academic opinions.
The petition was filed in April of last year by lawyer Hermawanto, who on Monday immediately welcomed the ruling and said it affirmed that a lawyer’s work should not be regarded as obstruction of justice.
