Court Scraps Criminal Code Articles on Insulting Government

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has annulled provisions concerning insults against the government or state institutions in the country's newly enacted Criminal Code. As quoted from its website on Friday, August 28, 2026, the court said the provisions could "reduce, suppress, or even eliminate" citizens' constitutional rights as guaranteed by the Indonesian Constitution.

Act No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code was enacted by former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in 2023 after being deliberated by the House of Representatives. Its drafting process was not without controversy, as it faced several protests from students and civil society groups over provisions they considered problematic, including those concerning insults against state symbols.

The ruling was delivered at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta on Friday. Constitutional Justice Adies Kadir said the court considered that, within the bounds of reasonable reasoning, all institutions, including state institutions, are legal subjects that do not have feelings—whether feelings of being praised, criticized, or insulted; thus individuals serving within state institutions must uphold their honor and dignity by carrying out their respective institutions’ duties and functions in accordance with their founding purposes.

The court emphasized that the constitutional guarantee of the right to express thoughts and positions in accordance with one’s conscience is a right that must be safeguarded and protected. Without such a guarantee, the fulfillment of human rights, including other civil liberties, would be threatened and lose its meaning in the truest sense.

"(The provisions) could create the threat of criminalizing legitimate criticism, evaluation, and opinions and could produce a chilling effect on the public's ability to express their thoughts and positions openly. The argument that this could result in violations of human rights as guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia is therefore well-founded," Adies said.

The court also considered that Article 240 and its explanation, as well as Article 241 of the Criminal Code, which address such insults, do not guarantee rights including equal treatment before the law and the right to communicate and obtain information for the development of oneself and one’s social environment. Therefore, it ruled that the applicants’ arguments were legally justified in their entirety.

"Declaring Article 240 and the Explanation of Article 240 ... as well as Article 241 of Act No. 1 of 2023 ... contrary to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and without binding legal force," Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo said.

According to the Constitutional Court's website, the nine citizens who filed the judicial review argued that Article 240 directly placed them "in a vulnerable position" to restrictions and criminalization for exercising their constitutional rights. They argued that the phrase "insulting the government or state institutions" does not provide a clear objective definition or parameters, leaving considerable room for broad and subjective interpretation.

They also argued that Article 241 significantly expands the scope for criminalization. This is because it could be used against anyone who broadcasts, displays, posts writings or images, plays recordings, or disseminates an expression deemed to contain insults against the government or state institutions.