Controversial changes fueled protests when they were first proposed in 2019. Business groups, including the American Chamber of Commerce and European Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, expressed concerns that the sex outside marriage provisions could deter investment and tourism. Human rights advocates warned that the law could be weaponized against political opponents, LGBTQ individuals, women, and religious minorities in the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation. Indonesia has a significant Christian minority and hundreds of ethnic groups with diverse cultural practices. President Joko Widodo’s administration, which oversaw the passage of the law, said it was grateful for public criticism and maintained that the reforms were intended to reflect Indonesian values and strengthen the legal system. Government officials also insisted that safeguards will be put in place to prevent abuse, including requirements that complaints for certain offenses like adultery must come from immediate family members. However, critics describe the law as a low point for democracy in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, warning it could be used to silence dissent and target political opponents. The court’s ruling will determine whether the controversial provisions remain in force. Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has previously struck down or modified laws deemed to violate constitutional rights, though the process can take months or years. The implementation of the new criminal code represents a significant shift in Indonesia’s legal landscape, affecting the lives of the country’s 280 million people and potentially impacting its reputation as a destination for tourists and foreign investors. Activists in Indonesia have filed legal challenges against the country’s newly implemented criminal code, warning that it poses a serious threat to civil liberties and gives authorities sweeping powers with limited oversight. The revised law, which replaced Indonesia’s colonial era penal code in January 2026, criminalizes sex outside marriage and makes it illegal to insult the president, vice president, and other top officials. Rights groups say the provisions could be used to restrict freedom of expression, privacy, and personal behavior. The Constitutional Court began hearing on Friday, January 10, 2026, the first of several petitions challenging the new code, which authorities argue includes sufficient protections. Sexual relations outside marriage were criminalized and now carry a sentence of up to a year in jail, effectively outlawing same sex relations as such unions are not recognized in Indonesia. The cohabitation of unwedded couples can see violators imprisoned for up to six months. When lawmakers approved the code in December 2022, the United Nations office in Indonesia warned that some provisions could infringe on fundamental freedoms and human rights. Yusril Ihza Mahendra, a minister overseeing legal affairs and human rights, hailed a historic momentum for Indonesia as it sheds the penal system inherited from Dutch colonial rule, which ended eight decades ago. Critics warn that the new criminal procedural law, which lays out the framework for the enforcement of the criminal code, grants officials broad powers with minimal oversight. “Now the police have a far greater authority to seize evidence, to arrest people,” said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher of Human Rights Watch. The rules grant investigators, for example, the power to decide what constitutes urgent situations, meaning they can search and seize evidence without a court order. Authorities can also detain suspects if they do not cooperate during inquiry, said Iftitahsari, a lawyer and researcher at the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR). “Granting these extensive powers could create greater space for corruption,” Iftitahsari, who goes by one name, told AFP. When the rules are unfair from the start, abuse of power and procedural injustice can easily increase, she said. Iftitahsari also warned of a democratic decline in Indonesia, which adopted democracy following the fall of the late leader Suharto, who ruled with an iron fist for more than three decades until the late 1990s. The new rules are certainly far from what is aspired in terms of upholding the rights of citizens in a democracy, said the lawyer. Edward, the deputy law minister, declined to comment on these claims, citing the ongoing court case. Several civil society organizations and legal advocates have petitioned the Constitutional Court to review the law, arguing that it violates Indonesia’s constitution and international human rights commitments. The criminal code can be challenged in the Constitutional Court if it is considered that the correct procedure was not followed before it was passed, including seeking relevant and transparent public participation. Labour unions have used that approach to challenge the Jobs Creation Law, which was passed in October 2020 and deemed unconstitutional a year later. The new code applies to both Indonesians and foreigners and also restores a ban on insulting the president, state institutions or Indonesia’s national ideology known as Pancasila. The law replaces a framework that had been in use since independence in 1946 and was a mix of Dutch law, customary law known as hukum adat, and modern Indonesian law.