Definition of Written Law – In social life, there are regulations in the form of norms and sanctions that are made by mutual agreement. Laws are made with the aim of regulating and maintaining order, justice so that chaos can be controlled or prevented.
Every country has different legal regulations, including Indonesia. In accordance with article 1, paragraph 3, Indonesia is a constitutional state and every Indonesian citizen must obey the laws that apply in Indonesia.
Laws in each country are regulations that are customary, officially considered binding and formalized by the state or government authorities. There are lots of laws in Indonesia, laws, government regulations, presidential decrees, to regional regulations.
In law regulations are also distinguished into two forms, namely, written and unwritten. In general, written legal regulations are laws officially made by the local government that have been mutually agreed upon, while unwritten laws are generally laws in the form of customs that are recognized and obeyed by the people around the area without any recorded source of law.
For this reason, so that Sinaumed’s friends are not confused about the meaning of written law and how to apply examples of it in Indonesian law, in this discussion we have summarized various information related to written law and examples that can be found in Indonesian law.
You can see further discussion regarding the meaning of written law below!
Definition of Law
Before discussing further the written law contained in the law in Indonesia, it’s a good idea for Sinaumed’s friends to also understand the meaning of general legal terms first, as explained below!
Law (Absorption from Arabic: حكم) is a collection of rules consisting of norms and sanctions. The law is very closely related to human life and is the most important system in the administration of the police within a series of police powers, because all human life is limited by law.
The law regulates in many ways sanctions for abuse of power in the political, economic and social fields and acts as the main mediator in social relations between communities against violations of individual rights in civil and criminal cases that seek the state’s way of adjudicating. . the perpetrators. violation of public law.
Administrative law is used to adjudicate a government, whereas international law regulates matters between independent nations relating to business, the environment, regulations or military action. The philosopher Aristotle said that “the rule of law is far better than a tyrannical government”. The word law comes from the Arabic al-hukmu which means judgment, decree, order, government, power and punishment.
Experts and legal scholars try to provide legal definitions or understandings, but no legal experts or scholars have yet been able to provide a legal understanding that can be accepted by all parties.
In turn, the absence of a legal definition that is accepted by all experts and jurists creates a problem of disagreement about legal definitions. So is it possible to define law, or is it possible to define law? Then it develops again: Do we need to define laws?
The absence of a legal definition is clearly an obstacle for those who only wish to study law. Of course, before starting to study what law is in its various aspects, a preliminary understanding is needed, or an understanding of law in general.
For ordinary people, the meaning of law is not so important. What is more important is community enforcement and legal protection. However, if you want to learn more about the law, you certainly need to know what is meant by law. In general, the wording of the legal definition contains at least the following elements:
Law regulates the behavior or activities of people in society. Rules contain dos and don’ts for doing or not doing something. This aims to regulate people’s behavior in such a way that it does not violate or harm the public interest.
Legal regulations are determined by the competent institution or authority. Laws and regulations are not made by everyone, but by institutions or bodies that have the power to set regulations that are binding on the wider community.
Law enforcement is mandatory. Laws were not made to be broken, but made to be obeyed. To fulfill it, the apparatus authorized to control and fulfill it is also regulated, even in terms of repressive measures. However, there are also optional/additional legal standards.
The law provides for sanctions, and any violations or acts against the law will be subject to severe penalties. Sanctions have also been regulated in law.
Definition of Written Law
After knowing the general meaning of law above, an explanation of the meaning of law in writing can be seen below!
The Basic Law is divided into written law and unwritten law. The basic written law is the constitution of the country, while the unwritten law is also known as a contract. Between the two forms of state administration, there are characteristics or characteristics that can distinguish between written law and unwritten law. When an unwritten legal relationship becomes a complement to written law.
A written constitution is a form of constitution that is written and incorporated into the rule of law. Written law becomes the state constitution as the basis and source of regulations or other laws. There are two types of basic written law, namely codified and non-codified written law.
Codified written law is written law written in a systematic, complete and orderly manner. The type of codified written law is recorded, so there is no need to apply regulations.
While written law that is not codified is written law whose composition is incomplete, not systematic and fragmented. In practice, written law that is not codified still requires implementing regulations.
Codification is the process of collecting and systematically compiling various laws, regulations or orders in certain fields determined by the government.
Written law is law that is written and embodied in state legislation, both codified and non-codified.
Examples of written law: Civil law is written in civil law, criminal law is written in criminal law.
Codified written law refers to constitutional law that has been stipulated and promulgated/regulated in a government publication. If the law is codified, the advantages are legal certainty, legal competence and legal simplification.
At the same time, the disadvantage is that legal movement is slow and cannot quickly keep up with developments. Laws are not codified otherwise. An example of codified written law is the Criminal Code (KUHP).
Examples of written law that are not codified are PP (Government Regulations), Laws (UU), Presidential Decrees (Keppres). Written law can also be interpreted as rules or provisions that are presented in a formal form that is systematically arranged. Laws that can function directly as instructions and warnings to the public.
Examples of Written Law in Indonesia
The following are some examples of laws made in writing in the applicable laws in Indonesia:
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1945 Constitution
As the main source of law in Indonesia, the 1945 Constitution is an example of a law formed in writing so that its contents can be recorded and accounted for.
The 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (abbreviated as UUD 1945; sometimes also abbreviated as UUD ’45, UUD RI 1945 or UUD NRI 1945) is the constitution and the highest source of law applicable in the Republic of Indonesia. The 1945 Constitution is the embodiment of the ideology of the Indonesian state, namely Pancasila, which is clearly stated in the opening of the 1945 Constitution.
The drafting of the 1945 Constitution began with the formation of the Pancasila state on June 1, 1945 at the first meeting of the BPUPKI. The formulation of the UUD itself actually began on July 10, 1945, when the second session of the BPUPKI to draft the constitution began. The 1945 Constitution was officially ratified by PPKI on August 18, 1945 as the constitution of the State of Indonesia. Its validity was suspended for 9 years with the enactment of the RIS Constitution (1950) and the UUD. The 1945 Constitution was re-established as the state constitution through President Soekarno’s decree on July 5, 1959. After the reform period, four amendments (revisions) were made to the 1945 Constitution in 1999-2002.
The 1945 Constitution is the highest legal authority in the Indonesian constitutional system, therefore all Indonesian state institutions must comply with the 1945 Constitution and state administration must comply with the provisions of the 1945 Constitution. In addition, all laws and regulations in Indonesia may not conflict with the 1945 Constitution. The Constitutional Court has the authority to review laws, while the Supreme Court has the authority to handle laws that violate the provisions of the 1945 Constitution.
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Presidential Decree (Presidential Decree)
As a decision based on a leader of a country, a presidential decree or presidential decree can also be categorized as an example of a law made in writing.
Presidential decrees have different roles in the old order, new order and reform. During the Old Order and New Order eras, presidential decrees had two characteristics, namely regulatory decisions (regeling) and decisive decisions (beschikking).
The Presidential Decree has these two characteristics based on the Attachment to MPRS Decree No. XX/MPRS/1966, which states that the Presidential Decree contains special (unique) provisions to amend the provisions of the relevant Constitution, MPR Leadership Decrees or Government Regulations (“PP”) to be implemented.
According to Hamid S. Tamim, the word “einmalig” means an accusatory decision. Meanwhile, presidential decrees implementing the provisions of the constitution, MPR decrees and government decrees are legislative decrees. An example of a decision is Presidential Decree No. 63 of 2004, which concerns the security of national vital sites. An example of confusing presidential decisions is the appointment of ambassadors and consuls. The current Presidential Decree is only one of the government’s concrete legal actions (beschikking).
However, it should also be noted that Article 100 of Law 12/2011 stipulates the following:
Any presidential decree, ministerial decision, governor’s decision, governor/mayor decision, or other official decision as referred to in Article 97, which is regulatory in nature and existed before the enactment of this Law, is considered as a decision, unless it is against the Law.
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Criminal Code
As a reference in deciding criminal penalties on legal subjects, the Criminal Code is deliberately made in writing so that each legal article can be used as a reference in making legal decisions.
The Criminal Code (Dutch: Wetboek van Strafrecht, commonly known as the Criminal Code or Criminal Code)) are laws and regulations that form the basis of Indonesian criminal law. The possibility of deviating from the Decree of the President of the Republic of Indonesia dated October 10, 1945 No. 2 states that the current provisions of the Criminal Code are the provisions of the Criminal Code which took effect on March 8, 1942.
Criminal Law or Criminal Law are laws and regulations that regulate substantive crimes in Indonesia. The criminal law currently in effect is the Dutch Colonial Criminal Code, namely Wetboek van Strafrecht voor Nederlands-Indië. It was ratified by Staatsblad No. 732 of 1915 and came into force on January 1, 1918. After independence, the criminal law was enforced further and its provisions were harmonized by canceling articles that were no longer relevant. This is based on the transitional provisions of Article II of the 1945 Constitution which states that:
“All existing government institutions and regulations must be implemented immediately until new ones are enacted under that constitution.” This law later became the legal basis for implementing all laws under the colonial administration at the time of independence.
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PP (Government Regulation)
Government regulations (abbreviated as PP) in Indonesia are statutory regulations issued by the president to comply with the law properly. The content of government decisions is important for the implementation of the law. Law Number 12 of 2011 concerning the Laws and Regulations of the Republic of Indonesia states that government laws as “organic” rules and as hierarchical laws may not overlap or conflict with each other.
The Government Regulation Letter is signed by the President.
Government regulations are administrative regulations, because they cannot regulate or make any constitutional provisions. No authority can make these rules, except as provided by law. It can be said that government regulations play a role in providing additional provisions for the implementation of laws.
This provision is intended to enforce the law or enforce the law as long as necessary, without deviating from the contents of the relevant law. The content of government regulations also contains material on the implementation of good laws.
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Civil Code
Indonesian civil law is essentially derived from Napoleonic law and then based on Staatsblaad No. 23 of 1847 for Burgerlijk Wetboek voor Indonesia (abbreviated BW) or known as the Civil Code. BW was actually a legal instrument created by the Dutch East Indies government for non-indigenous citizen groups, namely Europeans and Chinese.
However, based on Article 2 of the Transitional Provisions of the 1945 Constitution states: “All organs and regulations of the State that must be carried out according to the Constitution until the founding of the Republic of Indonesia on the 17th”, meaning that this will take effect before 17 August 1945 takes effect because of the many changes to years after the independence of the Republic of Indonesia before 1946, all regulations issued by the Dutch East Indies Government did not apply to Indonesian citizens (unity principle). estate, mortgage and trustee rights.
The codification of the Indonesian Civil Code is contained in Staatsblad No. 23 dated 30 April 1847 and entered into force in January 1848. After Indonesia’s independence, based on the provisions of Article 2 of the Transitional Provisions of the 1945 Constitution, the Dutch East Indies Civil Code remained in effect.
Conclusion
Thus a brief discussion of the definition of written law. The discussion this time does not only discuss the definition of written law, but also discusses further examples of the application of written law that Sinaumed’s friends can see well.
Understanding the meaning of written law gives us additional knowledge about the various legal regulations that apply in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, especially laws that are made in writing in order to regulate every citizen to obey the law and try to avoid any actions that violate applicable law,