A Juridical Analysis of the Arrest and Detention Process under Indonesian and Thai Procedural Law

Abstract

Arrest and detention are coercive measures that restrict a person's right to liberty, and their implementation must therefore be subject to the principles of human rights protection and due process of law. This article juridically analyzes the regulation of the arrest and detention process under Indonesia's Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) and the Criminal Procedure Code of Thailand, and identifies the fundamental similarities and differences between the two legal systems, particularly regarding judicial oversight. This research employs a normative legal method that is descriptive-analytical in nature, using statutory, comparative, and conceptual approaches. Data were collected through library research on primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials and analyzed qualitatively through deductive reasoning. Preliminary findings indicate that KUHAP places the authority to arrest and detain in the hands of investigators and public prosecutors, with ex post facto judicial oversight exercised through the pretrial (praperadilan) mechanism, whereas the Thai Criminal Procedure Code positions the court as an ex ante controller from the outset through its authority to grant detention permits. This structural difference in oversight has implications for the level of protection afforded to suspects in each country. The article recommends strengthening preventive judicial control mechanisms in the reform of Indonesia's criminal procedure law as a step toward more fully realizing the principle of due process of law.