Reconstruction of the Restorative Justice Criminal Theory in the 2023 Criminal Code for Misdemeanor Crimes

Abstract

The enactment of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code (Criminal Code 2023) marks a change in the criminal paradigm in Indonesia from a retributive approach to a more restorative approach. Although the purpose of punishment in the 2023 Criminal Code has accommodated the values of restorative justice, its regulation has not yet established a comprehensive normative framework for the settlement of misdemeanor crimes. This research aims to analyze the normative construction of restorative justice in the 2023 Criminal Code and reconstruct the theory of restorative criminalization for minor crimes. This research uses normative legal research methods with a legislative approach, a conceptual approach, and a comparative approach. Legal materials are analyzed qualitatively using prescriptive methods. The results of the study show that the restorative justice arrangements in the 2023 Criminal Code are still philosophical and have not comprehensively regulated the scope, mechanism, and legal consequences of restorative settlement, so that its implementation still depends on sectoral regulations and the discretion of law enforcement officials. As a conceptual contribution, this study offers a Restorative Criminal Theory Reconstruction Model that is built on five main elements, namely victim restoration, offender accountability, community participation, proportionality sentencing, and social reintegration. The model places restorative justice as a criminal paradigm for minor crimes so that it is expected to be a conceptual basis for improving criminal policies in the 2023 Criminal Code that better guarantees legal certainty, substantive justice, and legal utility.