Supreme Court Grants District Courts the Authority to Extend Detention of Corruption Suspects

Indra A. Pambudy

The Supreme Court has issued Circular Letter No. 5 of 2012 on “Orders to Extend Detention in Corruption Cases” (“Circular”). The Circular empowers district courts (Pengadilan Negeri) to extend detention of suspects in corruption cases.

The Supreme Court issued the Circular in order to clear up administrative difficulty in regards to which court has the authority to extend detention of corruption suspects. Such clarification is necessary because Law No. 46 of 2009 on Corruption Court (“2009 Law”) grants Corruption Courts (Pengadilan Tipikor) the exclusive authority to try and decide corruption cases (Art. 5, 2009 Law).