Formulating Legal Protections for Mobile Brigade Members During Mass Riot Control Based on the Principle of Legal Certainty

Abstract

Legal protection for Mobile Brigade members during protest security operations is crucial, as it concerns their rights as state officers facing high risks. It is particularly important regarding members who face sanctions while performing these duties, as the law—specifically Law Number 2 of 2002 concerning the Indonesian National Police—stipulates that members are legally protected when using force within permissible limits to control anarchic situations. A normative research method was employed.

The research findings indicate that: First, legal protection regulations for Mobile Brigade members during mass riot control already exist within Indonesian positive law through provisions regarding authority, discretion, the use of force, legal processes, and disciplinary and ethical accountability. However, these regulations remain fragmented and fail to establish a clear boundary between legitimate official actions and actions that exceed authority. Consequently, the limits of legal protection and liability for Mobile Brigade members during mass riot control duties are not clearly or integrally defined; thus, current protection relies on the general provisions of Articles 31 through 34 of the Criminal Code. Second, an ideal regulatory framework for the legal protection of Mobile Brigade members—based on the principle of legal certainty—is one that ensures conceptual clarity, hierarchical clarity, and normative consistency regarding the limits of authority, the use of force and discretion, forms of legal protection, and the limits of member liability during mass riot control. Such protection applies to members acting within the scope of legitimate authority and procedures, without absolving them of liability for actions that exceed that authority.