Legal Review of the Decision of the Natuna District Court Number: 17/Pid.B/2023/PN NTN in the Case of Criminal Acts of Document Forgery

Abstract

Criminal acts of document forgery have caused significant harm to society. The actions of law enforcement agencies, particularly the police, appear to be ineffective and incomplete in following up on criminal acts of forgery, especially document forgery. There are still many cases of forgery occurring in social life and within society. The losses are incalculable due to the prevalence of forgery. Court rulings do not deter perpetrators. Law enforcement agencies, together with relevant institutions, such as the police, should handle the issue of document forgery with criminal laboratory examinations that regulate the procedures and documents used as evidence and comparisons in order to obtain valid documents. This is the sole authority of the police based on the Regulation of the Chief of the Indonesian National Police Number 10 of 2009 concerning Procedures and Requirements for Requesting Technical Criminal Examinations of Crime Scenes and Forensic Laboratory Examination of Evidence to the Forensic Laboratory of the Indonesian National Police. Judges in handing down verdicts should reflect the values of justice and prioritise legal certainty in the verdicts they deliver. Judges must explore the values within society when deciding cases. In addition, judges must also assess the evidence and facts of the trial accurately and wisely. The main issue in this study is how the process of proving criminal document forgery is based on forensic examination and what are the legal considerations of the judge in handing down Decision Number 17/PID. B/2023/PN NTN in the case of criminal document forgery. The research method used in this study is normative law research, which describes the Legal Review of Natuna District Court Decision Number 17/PID. B/2023/PN NTN in the Case of Criminal Forgery. The results of this research and discussion found that the process of proving criminal acts of document forgery based on forensic examination by the Riau Regional Police Forensic Laboratory (Polda Riau) is not in accordance with the Regulation of the Chief of the Indonesian National Police Number 10 of 2009 concerning Procedures and Requirements for Requesting Technical Criminalistics Examination of Crime Scenes and Criminalistics Laboratory Examination of Evidence to the Indonesian National Police Forensic Laboratory and the legal considerations of the judge in issuing Decision Number 17/PID. B/2023/PN.NTN in the case of criminal forgery of documents has legal and nonlegal considerations. Legal considerations include the public prosecutor's indictment, the defendant's testimony, witness testimony, evidence, and the articles that have been fulfilled. Non-legal considerations consist of the defendant's background, the consequences of the defendant's actions, and the defendant's personal circumstances.