| dc.description.abstract | A witness is an essential proof to reveal material truth in criminal justice cases. The witness gives information under oath, family members are avoided to be witnesses,even the witness' attitude is trully considered to judge the truth of witness' information. Nevertheless, as a legal proof, the presence of a witness in a criminal investigation process depends on innitiative of related parties including attorneys and defendants. Therefore, the presence of witnesses is very tendentious, they will be called in accordance with the interest of related parties. Logically, parties who will not get benefit from a witness' information will not call the witness, they even will prevent the witness from being present. This condition becomes a fundamental to protect witnesses. In fact, so far the witness does not get adequate protection although there is the Law of Protection for Witnesses and Victims (UU Perlindungan Saksi dan Korban).
Witness position in criminal justice system in Indonesia actually configures from merely as a supporting system, that is as an instrument of proof, to as citizens’ participation in law enforcement. It happens because a period range of management is quite long, since revolution era until globalization era recently. It results in the presence of witnesses is ambiguous, particularly in term of legal counter attack, they are not protected well. In the future, witness position should be strengthened as participation of citizen who have rights and duties. Participation requires equity in position. It means witnesses should be a part of criminal justice system, so witnesses are expected to recover more objective information. It results in changing the view that testifying is a compulsory to be balance between having rights to have justice and being responsible for participating in criminal justice system suitable with the concept of democratic Pancasila-based legal country. Approaches on criminalization is also changed into reward. | en_US |
