Lack of Legal Framework Hampers Foreign Prisoner Transfers, Expert Warns

JAKARTA, RAKYAT NEWS – International law expert and professor at the University of Indonesia, Prof. Hikmahanto Juwana, emphasized that transferring foreign prisoners (WNA) to their home countries requires a dedicated law specifically for prisoner transfers.

“I believe this is necessary,” said Prof. Hikmahanto in Jakarta on Monday.

His statement responds to recent remarks by the Minister of Immigration and Correctional Affairs, Agus Andrianto.

Minister Agus had disclosed that three countries—France, Australia, and the Philippines—have formally requested the transfer of prisoners currently held in Indonesian facilities.

Prof. Hikmahanto explained that, under Indonesia’s current legal framework, international legal cooperation in criminal matters, such as Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA), does not include the authority for prisoner transfers.

According to him, MLA agreements typically focus on judicial matters but do not cover prisoner transfers.

He referred to Article 4, Letter c, of Law No. 1 of 2006 on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, which explicitly excludes the authority to transfer prisoners. This limitation creates challenges in fulfilling such requests.

Furthermore, Prof. Hikmahanto cited Article 45, Paragraph (2) of Law No. 22 of 2022 on Corrections. The article states that provisions on the transfer of prisoners should be regulated by a specific law, yet, to date, no such law exists.

“The issue is that, as of now, there is no law regulating the transfer of prisoners,” he added, underlining the need for a clear legal framework to address the matter.

He stressed the importance of establishing such a law to ensure that correctional officers are not put in a position where they might inadvertently violate legal procedures when facilitating prisoner transfers.

Meanwhile, Minister Agus Andrianto confirmed that his ministry is already working on drafting a law specifically related to prisoner transfers. This law, he said, would provide the necessary legal foundation for handling such matters.

“We will instruct our team to prepare regulations that will serve as the legal basis for the transfer of prisoners,” Agus said in Jakarta on Monday. (Uki Ruknuddin)