Legal Analysis of the Suspect's Right to Obtain Legal Assistance from an Advocate in the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

This study aims to review and analyze the regulation of the suspect's right to obtain legal assistance by an advocate in the criminal justice system. To review and analyze the weaknesses of the suspect's right to obtain legal assistance by an advocate in the criminal justice system. To review and analyze the formulation of the regulation of the suspect's right to obtain legal assistance by an advocate in the criminal justice system in the future. This research is of the normative juridical type, the method of the legislative approach, the comparative approach, the research specifications are descriptive analysis, the data sources used are secondary data taken from primary legal materials, secondary legal materials, tertiary legal materials, the data collection method through literature studies and analysis techniques using qualitative. The results of the study indicate that the suspect's right to obtain legal assistance by an advocate in the criminal justice system is regulated in Article 31 of Law Number 20 of 2025 concerning the Criminal Code, however, Article 31 of the 2025 Criminal Procedure Code still places legal assistance as an optional right and depends on the suspect's choice, without being accompanied by an active obligation for the state to ensure that these rights are truly fulfilled. In this context, the right to legal aid risks being reduced to merely administrative or formalistic fulfillment, where the state is deemed to have fulfilled its obligations simply by providing notification. However, without real legal assistance, suspects remain in a weak position and vulnerable to pressure, procedural errors, and abuse of authority during the investigation process. Weaknesses in the legal structure include psychological factors among law enforcement officers, closed-minded investigators, weak advocate integrity, and limited access to and distribution of legal aid. Substantive weaknesses in the law are found in Article 31 of the 2025 Criminal Procedure Code, which still positions legal aid as an optional right dependent on the suspect's choice, without an active obligation for the state to ensure that this right is truly fulfilled. Weaknesses in the legal culture include negative public stigma regarding advocates, a lack of legal awareness among suspects, and a lack of candor and honesty among suspects. Strengthening of normative regulations within the Criminal Procedure Code and its implementing regulations is necessary to ensure that the right to legal aid is not merely declarative but also operational.