ABSTRACT
Seeking the ancient criminal principle law in ancient archipelago law books is an important quest in the development of the criminal law in Indonesia, especially on the occasion of the enactment of the Bill of the Indonesian Criminal Code. There are at least two relevant ancient archipelago law books, namely the Book of Kutara Manawa Darma Sastra of the Majapahit Kingdom and the Laws on Simbur Tjahaja of the Sultanate of Palembang. Those books, which contain the important principles of the criminal laws, are considered very important and can contribute to the formulation of the Bill of the Indonesian Criminal Codes. Both of the ancient books of the law of archipelago should be reviewed and researched in-depth, because they contain very high local wisdom values and historical values of the development of criminal law and condemnation, especially in the era of the Majapahit Kingdom and the Sultanate of Palembang. With the exploration and the study of the principles of the criminal law in both books, it is expected that an understanding of the historical development of the criminal law in Indonesia can be gained, instead of only referring to western criminal law. This will lead to an enrichment of the current Indonesian criminal law and in particular, in its potential reform.
