Abstract:
Pretrial review is an essential mechanism for judicial oversight and human rights protection in criminal proceedings. However, its limited scope and the unclear distinction between procedural and substantive issues create uncertainty regarding whether the expiry of prosecution limitation periods can be challenged through pretrial review. This issue remains insufficiently explored, particularly concerning the relationship between prosecutorial authority, judicial review, and human rights protection. This study aims to examine the limitations of pretrial review in Indonesia, identify relevant lessons from the United States, and propose a rights-based reconstruction of pretrial review concerning time-barred prosecutions. It employs normative legal research using statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches, with qualitative analysis of relevant legal materials. The findings reveal three key points. First, Indonesian law does not explicitly establish expired prosecution limitation periods as a separate object of pretrial review, creating uncertainty regarding the legal basis and procedures for challenging prosecutorial authority. Second, the United States demonstrates how mechanisms such as preliminary hearings, pretrial motions, and habeas corpus provide avenues for judicial scrutiny, although their functions and limitations differ from Indonesian pretrial review. Third, Indonesia requires a clearer framework for reviewing limitation-related objections based on legality, effective human rights protection, and judicial restraint. Such reform should clarify jurisdiction, examination standards, and legal consequences without extending pretrial review into the determination of criminal liability.
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