A View of Karl Marx's Legal Theory Toward the Relevance of Legal Events in

Indonesia

I. Background
Laws are formed to maintain stability in the interests of society, so as to create a sense of justice
and security for all levels of society. As stated in the 1945 Constitution article 1 paragraph 3
where the law itself has three objectives, namely legal certainty, legal justice, and legal
expediency. These three objectives should be implemented and run in harmony with the factual
events that occur, but some of them have many deviations in their application, and are not in
accordance with the three objectives of the law. Such as some cases that offend the upper-class
people with people who can be said to be below the people who have a class. There are many
officials who use their positions and high strata in their economy as a means of redeeming the
sanctions of the sentences imposed or can be called legal immunity. From these problems, it is
very clear that in this era the law is only a regulation that can be bought by state officials. Justice
should belong to all humans, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, because all are obliged
to obey and get protection by the applicable positive law. There are basic principles, namely:
equality before the law. Equality, without legal distinction, for every human being. 1
But in reality it is just a theory, because in its application until this democratic era, the law still
raises standards like a knife, "sharp down, blunt up". An example in this case that we are very
familiar with in Indonesia is the corruption committed by Gayus Tambunan. He was able to travel
around Indonesia and travel abroad by falsifying his fake passport identity. Therefore, the making
of this paper is closely related to the theory expressed by Karl Marx that the law is a legitimizing
tool of a certain economic class.2 The need for study in this paper will show that the legal events
around us have a correlation based on existing legal theory.

II. Ideas of Thought

It is known that there have been many legal cases that deviate from the material law which makes
it inconsistent with the formal law. Among the existing cases is the legal case that ensnared
Minah's grandmother regarding the theft of cocoa. She was sentenced to 1 month and 15 days
with 3 months probation by the Purwokerto District Court on August 2, 2009.

It all started when Minah harvested 3 cocoa pods belonging to a company to sow or replant on
her cultivated land. Later, her actions were discovered by the foreman of the company. The cocoa
pods, which cost Rp.30,000, caught her in a legal case under Article 362 of the Criminal Code on
theft. In this case, there are many people who think that there is no humanism in the application
of a punishment. Whereas the law itself is not just considering based on rules on paper that bind
anyone, but also involves matters of human conscience. This statement is also related to the
theory of progressive law put forward by Satjipto Rahardjo, namely progressive law requires the
courage of law enforcement officials or enforcers to be able to interpret articles to civilize the
nation3, because if the legal approach to life only dwells on the law without being able to
interpret and adjust to the surrounding circumstances the results are just as unsatisfactory and
will create inequality in the law. This inequality in the law is what happened in the case of
Minah's grandmother. The law is not only a matter of regulations written on black and white
paper, but also considers aspects of humanity. The articles in the Criminal Code are often referred
to as "Kasih Uang Habis Perkara". Such is the intervening role of money or property in almost
every legal case that occurs.
Those who commit arbitrary acts that can buy the symbol of the law are among those who have a
high economic strata. It is no secret that many people know if some of them have abused their
power for personal interests that can harm others. In relation to this inequality, Karl Marx's theory
states that the law only serves the interests of "those who have", meaning the owners of capital.
What is famous from Karl Marx's theory is that law exists within the frame of infra-structure and
supra-structure. Then what do these two things mean? Infra-structure means the fact of the
economic relations of society, and supra-structure is non-economic social institutions, such as
law, religion, political systems, cultural patterns, and so on. 4
It is this inequality that makes the little people helpless before the law. For them, the law is a
frightening specter with a bad script. On the contrary, the law should be a protector and provide
benefits for all levels of society without exception. But what happens in the field is different,
unlike the three legal objectives mentioned above.

III. Conclusion
The conclusion drawn from the results of the discussion of this paper is that the role of law in the
Indonesian nation itself has not fulfilled the three elemen ts of certainty, justice and expediency.
The number of irregularities in the application of formal law has made the face of Indonesia,
which is known as a country of democracy and law, tarnished by the irresponsible purchase of
legal symbols, as well as arrogant actions and egoism itself. Small people who cannot afford a
lawyer are overwhelmed to defend themselves. Even though it is their own right, they are
defeated by human beings who abuse power. Karl Marx himself has long ago launched a theory
that correlates with the events that occurred in the current democratic era, which states that the
law is a legitimization tool of a certain economic class. Therefore, as law students who have the
right and responsibility to continue the continuity of the application of the law, little by little we
can provide solutions and movements of Indonesian positive law so that it continues to run within
the existing corridors. Without being bought with money, and not losing the dignity of anyone
who has obeyed all forms of rules that have been regulated by the state.

IV. Bibliography
[1] Bernard L. Tanya, Yoan N. Simanjutak, dan Markus Y. Hage, Teori Hukum Tertib Manusia Lintas Ruang dan
Generasi, Genta Publishing, Yogyakarta, 2010, hlm. 97-98

[2] Ibid, hlm. 7

[3] H. Deni Nuryadi (2016), Teori Hukum Progresif dan Penerapannya di Indonesia, Jurnal Ilmah Hukum De’Jure:
Kajian Ilmiah Hukum, 1(2), 3, https://journal.unsika.ac.id/index.php/jurnalilmiahhukumdejure/article/view/515

[4] Rizka Noor Hashela. (2017). Realitas Hukum Dalam Asas Equality Before The Law, Putusan Pengadilan,
https://www.jdih.tanahlautkab.go.id/artikel_hukum/detail/realitas-hukum-dalam-asas-equality-before-the-law