JAKARTA, LITERASIHUKUM.COM — Commission XIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives, together with the government, has approved the Draft Law on Witness and Victim Protection to be brought to a plenary session for second-level discussion. The decision was made in a working meeting at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Monday (13/4/2026), which was chaired by Chairman of Commission XIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives Willy Aditya and attended by Deputy Minister of Law Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej.

The approval was born after all factions in Commission XIII conveyed their mini-faction views and stated their agreement for the Bill to proceed to the next stage. From the government side, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej also expressed his approval representing the President, while also expressing his appreciation for the completion of the first-level discussion.

With this decision, the Bill on Witness and Victim Protection is now awaiting second-level discussion in the plenary session of the Indonesian House of Representatives. If approved in that forum, the draft will be officially enacted into law.

The discussion of this Bill from the outset has been positioned as an effort to strengthen protection for witnesses, victims, informants, and experts, while shifting the legal approach which has so far been considered too oriented towards perpetrators. Chairman of Commission XIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives Willy Aditya previously also emphasized that this revision is directed at strengthening legal and human rights reform, including by expanding the institutional reach LPSK down to the regions.

From the government's perspective, the discussion of this Bill is also seen as part of the need for more comprehensive legal reform. The Ministry of Law previously emphasized that the Witness and Victim Protection Bill must be drafted comprehensively in order to provide legal certainty, justice, and effective protection for parties directly involved in legal proceedings.

Thus, the approval of Commission XIII and the government on April 13, 2026, is an important step towards the ratification of a regulation deemed strategic in strengthening legal protection for witnesses and victims of criminal acts in Indonesia.