Improving the role of experts under Indonesian criminal procedure law: Lessons learnedfrom the Dutch legal system

This article attempts to scrutinize the role of experts under the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) and examine how Indonesian courts have interpreted and applied relevant rules and principles of experts in selected cybercrime cases. It finds that the main role of experts in such cases is to provide courts with opinions on the legal and technical meanings of the legal provisions at stake and their contextualization in the cases. This issue raises a question as to whether law enforcement agencies comprehend the execution of the provisions. It also shows that law enforcement agencies are not always interested in conducting digital forensic examination from which electronic evidence may be produced. It emphasizes that the role of experts under the KUHAP is equivocal and highlights the need to improve the role of experts and relevant principles. To improve the role of experts under Indonesian criminal law, this article describes and explains the salient features of expert evidence under Dutch law. The article concludes by providing a series of recommendations.