ANALYSIS OF LEX SPECIALIS AND PROSPECTIVE INVESTIGATION OF CRIMINAL ACTS IN THE FIELD OF INDONESIAN AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT BY THE INDONESIAN AIR FORCE
Keywords:
Indonesian Airspace, Investigation, Indonesian Air Force, Airspace Management Criminal OffensesAbstract
The rapid advancement of commercial aviation technology and the widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles have led to an increase in legal violations within Indonesian airspace, threatening national safety and sovereignty. The investigation of criminal offenses in airspace management previously encountered obstacles due to ambiguous divisions of authority and overlapping jurisdictions among various law enforcement agencies. This legal research aims to analyze the legal standing of Indonesian Air Force officers as investigators of criminal offenses in airspace management based on prevailing legal principles, as well as to formulate the necessary implementing regulations. The research method employed is normative or doctrinal legal research using a literature review approach, qualitatively and descriptively analyzing various primary and secondary legal materials. The findings indicate that Law Number 21 of 2025 concerning Airspace Management grants a specific mandate to Indonesian Air Force officers to independently investigate aerospace crimes in prohibited airspace, restricted airspace, flight operation safety zones of airbases, and the unauthorized entry of foreign civil aircraft. Based on the principle of lex specialis derogat legi generali and the application of the adjustment principle, this authority is independent; Thus, notifications and investigation results are submitted directly to the public prosecutor without police supervision. This establishes equal standing for the military in executing aerospace law enforcement functions. The study concludes by emphasizing the urgent need to enact implementing regulations in the form of a Regulation of the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces to govern the appointment mechanism of investigators and to compile integrated standard operating procedures. Such implementing regulations are critical to avoid jurisdictional conflicts in practice and to ensure the provision of specialized investigative education for air force officers to maintain substantive legal certainty.
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