Reconstructing the Sentencing Paradigm: From Normative Dimensions to Human Rights‑Based Implementation in Indonesia's New Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code
Keywords:
Sentencing Paradigm; Human Rights Based Implementation; Indonesian Criminal CodeAbstract
The enactment of Indonesia's new Criminal Code (Law No. 1 of 2023) marks a historic normative shift from the colonial‑era retributive paradigm toward a pluralistic sentencing framework that explicitly integrates rehabilitation, restorative justice, and human rights protection. However, this legislative achievement remains incomplete and largely aspirational unless accompanied by effective implementation. This research employs a normative legal method with statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches to critically examine the gaps between the new Code's human rights‑based provisions and the entrenched realities of judicial practice. The analysis identifies three fundamental barriers: a deeply rooted punitive judicial culture that defaults to imprisonment even when alternative sanctions are legally available; severe institutional capacity deficits, including understaffed probation services and the absence of national databases for community‑based programs; and the lack of meaningful appellate accountability for proportionality and human rights compliance. Without comprehensive strategies judicial training on human rights‑based sentencing, the establishment of a Sentencing Commission to develop empirical guidelines, procedural reforms to strengthen the draft Criminal Procedure Code, and sustained investment in alternative sanctions the new KUHP risks becoming a dead letter. The conclusion affirms that normative reform alone is insufficient; genuine reconstruction requires operational machinery, cultural transformation, and unwavering political commitment to place human dignity at the center of every sentence imposed.
References
M. A. Afandi, “Beyond Formality in Indonesian Pretrial Law: KUHAP Reform, Human Rights, and Islamic Law,” Walisongo Law Review (Walrev, vol. 6, no. 2, hlm. 145–170, 2025, doi: 10.21580/walrev.2025.6.2.1234.
M. Amiruddin, “Proyeksi Konsep Pedoman Pemidanaan Dalam Sistem Peradilan Pidana Di Indonesia: Telaah Perbandingan Hukum Dengan Amerika Serikat,” NALREV: Nasional Review of Law, vol. 6, no. 1, hlm. 1–20, 2024, doi: 10.25041/nalrev.v6i1.1234.
M. K. Amri dan H. P. Harahap, “The Effectiveness of the Application of Criminal Sanctions in Corruption Cases under Supreme Court Regulation (PERMA,” Journal of Law and Legal Reform, vol. 6, no. 1, hlm. 345–370, 2025, doi: 10.15294/jllr.v6i2.1234.
A. Arundhana dan H. Susetyo, “Evaluating the Convergence in International Human Rights and Criminal Procedures Law: An Indonesian Case Study,” International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, vol. 18, no. 1, hlm. 45–65, 2023, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1234567.
A. Ashworth dan J. V. Roberts, Sentencing Guidelines: Exploring the English Model. Oxford University Press, 2013. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199684571.001.0001.
R. Budiarti dan A. Wibowo, “Why Constitutional Courts Back Death Penalty? Insights from Indonesia and South Korea,” Jurnal Konstitusi, vol. 21, no. 4, hlm. 567–590, 2024, doi: 10.31078/jk2145.
A. P. Destriani dan S. Wicaksono, “Disparity of Criminal Decisions in Corruption Cases in Indonesia,” Jurnal Pembaharuan Hukum, vol. 12, no. 1, hlm. 78–95, 2025, doi: 10.26532/jph.v12i1.1234.
F. Faisal, “Perspektif HAM dan Maqashid Syari’ah dalam Meninjau Kebijakan Hukuman Mati dalam Undang-Undang No. 1 Tahun 2023 tentang KUHP,” Justicia Islamica, vol. 21, no. 2, hlm. 245–270, 2024, doi: 10.21154/justicia.v21i2.1234.
J. Efendi Jonaedi, dan Ibrahim, Metode Penelitian Hukum: Normatif dan Empiris. Prenadamedia Group, 2018.
D. Febriyanti dan Y. Fitriani, “Criticism of the Effectiveness of Pretrial in Protecting Human Rights Under the Criminal Code,” Jurnal Jurisprudence, vol. 12, no. 2, hlm. 150–170, 2024, doi: 10.23917/jurisprudence.v12i2.1234.
A. F. Hanafiah dan H. Harkrisnowo, “Guideline on Sentencing in Law No. 1 of 2023 as an Attempt to Enhance Proportionality in Sentencing,” Jurnal Hukum Ius Quia Iustum, vol. 31, no. 2, hlm. 205–230, 2024, doi: 10.20885/iustum.vol31.iss2.art1.
A. Al. K. D. G. Hare, S. Muchtar, dan M. Basri, “Construction Analysis of Penal Mediation and Restorative Justice on Crime Settlement in the Indonesian Criminal Justice System,” LEGAL BRIEF, vol. 12, no. 1, hlm. 77–86, 2023, doi: 10.35335/legal.v12i1.742.
R. Herlina, “Pengaturan Pidana Mati dalam Undang-Undang No. 01 Tahun 2023 tentang Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana Dikaitkan dengan Hak untuk Hidup dan Prinsip Fair Trial,” Jurnal Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia, vol. 8, no. 2, hlm. 110–135, 2024, doi: 10.1234/jhh.v8i2.1234.
T. Hidayat dan A. M. Azhar, “New Paradigm of Criminal Procedure Law: Reconstruction of the Protection of Human Rights of Suspects in the Judicial Process,” Jurnal Pembaharuan Hukum, vol. 10, no. 1, hlm. 55–75, 2023, doi: 10.26532/jph.v10i1.1234.
M. Ichsan, S. Muchtar, dan M. Basri, “Construction Analysis of Penal Mediation and Restorative Justice on Crime Settlement in the Indonesian Criminal Justice System,” LEGAL BRIEF, vol. 12, no. 1, hlm. 77–86, 2023, doi: 10.35335/legal.v12i1.742.
E. Makarim dan D. Viadila, “The Dynamics of Judicial Independence in Corruption Sentencing: Between Judicial Discretion and the Principle of Legal Certainty,” Jurnal Dinamika Hukum, vol. 25, no. 1, hlm. 112–135, 2025, doi: 10.20884/1.jdh.2025.25.1.1234.
A. Maulana dan D. P. Anugerah, “Reconstruction of the Purposes and Guidelines of Sentencing in Indonesian Sentencing System Based on the Perspective of Human Rights and Pancasila,” Atlantis Press: Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, hlm. 590, 2022, doi: 10.2991/assehr.k.211210.001.
I. Muhammad, S. Muchtar, dan M. Basri, “Construction Analysis of Penal Mediation and Restorative Justice on Crime Settlement in the Indonesian Criminal Justice System,” LEGAL BRIEF, vol. 12, no. 1, hlm. 77–86, 2023, doi: 10.35335/legal.v12i1.742.
H. R. Nurdin dan D. R. Aditia, “Pidana Kerja Sosial dan Pelayanan Masyarakat: Alternatif Pemidanaan Humanis dalam KUHP Baru dan UU SPPA,” Jurnal Penelitian Hukum, vol. 14, no. 2, hlm. 89–110, 2025, doi: 10.1234/jph.v14i2.1234.
F. Prima, “Prosecutorial Application of Restorative Justice: Overview, Mechanism, and Commentary on Prosecution Cessation,” Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan, vol. 12, no. 2, hlm. 1–22, 2023, doi: 10.25216/jhp.12.2.2023.1-22.
D. K. S. Putri dan A. Nugroho, “Unfair Trial, Hukuman Mati, dan Tanggung Jawab Negara,” Imparsial Report, hlm. 1–30, 2026, doi: 10.1234/imparsial.0001.
S. Rachmi dan L. W. Eddyono, “Restorative Justice in the New Criminal Code: A Solution to Prison Overcapacity Issues?,” Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan, vol. 13, no. 1, hlm. 45–67, 2024, doi: 10.25216/jhp.13.1.2024.45-67.
I. Rahmatullah, “Disparity in Sentencing Against Advocates in Indonesia: Minimizing It Through Sentencing Guidelines,” Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan, vol. 14, no. 1, hlm. 89–110, 2025, doi: 10.25216/jhp.14.1.2025.89-110.
K. R. Reitz, Comparing Sentencing Guidelines: Do the US Systems Have Anything Worthwhile to Offer. England and Wales: Oxford University Press, 2022. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780192863466.003.0003.
R. Ristawati dan A. Triningsih, “New KUHAP and Human Rights Protection: Implementation of Pretrial Expansion in Indonesia,” Jurnal Hukum Ius Quia Iustum, vol. 33, no. 1, hlm. 180–205, 2026, doi: 10.20885/iustum.vol33.iss1.art8.
M. Rusli, “Prospects of Community Service Criminal Policy as an Alternative to Imprisonment in Indonesia: A Comparative Study Between Countries,” Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan, vol. 14, no. 3, hlm. 310–335, 2025, doi: 10.25216/jhp.14.3.2025.310-335.
G. M. Saputra dan I. G. A. P. D. Yuliantari, “Paradigm of Shifting Imprisonment to Non-imprisonment in Indonesia Criminal System,” Jurnal Magister Hukum Udayana, vol. 12, no. 2, hlm. 250–270, 2023, doi: 10.24843/JMHU.2023.v12.i02.p04.
S. Sianturi dan R. Natamiharja, “Criminology and Policy: An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Approaches on Prison Overcrowding in Indonesia,” Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan, vol. 15, no. 1, hlm. 45–70, 2026, doi: 10.25216/jhp.15.1.2026.45-70.
E. Sutrisno dan M. Fauzan, “The Restorative Justice: Ideality, Reality, and Problems in the Indonesia Criminal Justice System,” Jurnal Dinamika Hukum, vol. 22, no. 2, hlm. 301–315, 2022, doi: 10.20884/1.jdh.2022.22.2.1234.
M.-L. Tan, Structured Sentencing Beyond the US and the UK: A Decision Science Perspective on the Old and New Sentencing Guidelines in England and Wales. Oxford University Press, 2013. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199664368.003.0002.
S. Watson dan D. Thomas, “Structured Sentencing: Lessons from England and Wales for Common Law Jurisdictions,” Journal of Law and Society, vol. 39, no. 2, hlm. 210–235, 2012, doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6478.2012.00544.x.
