Is there any existence on the “equality before the law” principle?

Every law student in their first year at the law school in Indonesia knows this principle, since their professor told them to respect and honor this principle. But the professor failed to explain why this principle only become and sit in the “das sollen” and very uneasy to implement this principle into “das sein”.

A few days ago I was attending a meeting; the meeting is focused on the criminal defamation in the Indonesian penal code draft. Some experts argue that the Indonesian people still need the criminal defamation in the penal code. While the expert delivers many legal arguments and in line with their argument they said that if the criminal defamation dropped of at the draft penal code there would be no legal guarantee for the people being insult by other and will waive the “equality before the law” principle.

I was shocked by this statement, every jurist really know that the “equality before the law” principle is only worked for a very limited people. Even in Indonesian constitution and in other Indonesian human rights and law guarantees this principle, but the denial of this principle is still on going.

I must say that this principle easily to say but hard in implementation. There is no equality for the poor and even for the middle class in Indonesia.