The House Passes the Bill on Military Disciplinary Law

On 11 February 2014, the House of Representatives passed the Bill on Disciplinary Law of Soldiers in the Indonesian National Armed Forces (“Bill”).[1] The Bill was originally initiated by the Government as a response to an attack on the Cebongan correctional facility by members of the Indonesian Special Forces Command or Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus).[2]

The Bill provides for internal disciplinary procedures for imposing sanctions on personnel of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – “TNI”) that disregard their responsibilities or behave inappropriately. The internal disciplinary procedures are separated from the military[3] and district court system,[4] which have jurisdiction over criminal cases involving military personnel (Art. 3, Bill).