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Disclaimer / Limitations
This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers and/or CRVS legal experts. All efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the legal analysis, however, if you consider there to be any discrepancies or if there have been changes in the law of the country since our staff last updated the legal analysis, we welcome any additional information or insights. Please contact us via this form.
Cause of Death
Indonesia
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Indonesia
Cause of Death
Compulsory Certification
Compulsory Certification
Compulsory Certification
Does the law require a cause of death (CoD) to register a death?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Ideally, every death will have a cause of death (COD) medically certified by a trained physician. However, in circumstances where a medically certified cause of death (MCCD) is not available, the death should be registered without COD information. Cause of death should never be determined by a non-medical professional.
In some countries, an MCCD is a precondition for registering a death. In countries where there are not sufficient health professionals adequately trained in completing a MCCD, and in counries where many deaths occur at home, this can lead to low death registration rates. Policymakers should carefully consider whether an MCCD or COD is required to register a death, or if evidence alone of the fact of death can be submitted to the registrar.
A medical certificate of cause of death is not required to register a death. The death registration application form requests information about "cause of death". However, the "cause of death" categories listed in the form are actually manner of death categories. Therefore, cause of death information is not required to register a death.
Does the law clearly state who is responsible for medically certifying cause of death, for natural deaths occurring in a health facility?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should state what entity and person is responsible for certifying cause of death based on the circumstances of the death. For natural deaths that occur in health facilities, the head of the health facility should be required by law to ensure a death is medically certified. Ideally, the certifier of the cause of death should be the physician or surgeon who attended the decedent during their terminal illness, although in countries that lack a sufficient number of medical doctors to staff health facilities, a nurse or other health professional may be trained to certify cause of death.
The law requires health facilities and forensics units in hospitals to report on deaths and causes of death on a monthly basis to the District/City health office, in order to generate statistics. However, the law does not clearly state who is responsible for medically certifying cause of death.
Does the law designate a certifier of cause of death, for natural deaths occuring under medical supervision but outside a health facility?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For a home-based death due to natural causes, a certifier may include a doctor, nurse, or other trained health professional who attended the deceased during that person’s illness.
For deaths that occur outside a health facility, the cause of death is determined by verbal authopsy, regardless of weather the deceased was under medical care. Verbal autopsy is performed by a physician, nurse or trained midwife. It is unclear if the physician, nurse, or trained midwife is required to complete a medical certificate of cause of death based on the verbal autopsy.
Does the law clearly state who is responsible for medically certifying cause of death when deaths are unnatural or suspicious, or otherwise referred to the MLDI authority?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Deaths due to unnatural causes (such as accident, self-harm or violence); man-made or natural disasters; suspiciouos causes, or where CoD cannot be determined by the attending physician should be referred to the Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) authority for medical certification of cause of death. The coroner may be responsible for certifying cause of death in cases of unnatural death.
Article 133 of Law No. 8 of 1981 on Criminal Procedure authorizes investigators to request a medical expert to conduct a post-mortem examination, if there is a suspicion that a death occurred as a result of a criminal offense. Article 158 of Law 17/2023 stipulates that the post-mortem examination must be performed by medical personnel. However, there is no provision that requires investigators to refer a case to a medical expert. If referred to a medical expert, the medical expert is required to submit a report to the investigator but there is no explicit requirement to complete a medical certificate of cause of death.
