Restorative Justice in Customary Criminal Law in Indonesia: A Legal and Sociological Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59141/jiss.v7i5.2339Keywords:
restorative justice, legal pluralism, customary lawAbstract
Restorative justice has emerged as a critical response to the retributive paradigm in criminal justice systems, which often neglects victim recovery and social harmony. In Indonesia, this approach is not new but has long been embedded in customary criminal law as part of the living law, emphasizing deliberation, community involvement, and the restoration of social balance. This study aims to analyze the regulation of restorative justice in Indonesian positive law and to examine the urgency of reforming criminal procedural law through the integration of customary criminal law values. The research employs a normative legal method using statutory, conceptual, and historical approaches, supported by descriptive, argumentative, and evaluative analysis techniques. The findings reveal that although restorative justice has been recognized in several legal instruments, including Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System and various internal regulations of law enforcement agencies, its regulation remains fragmented, sectoral, and not yet fully integrated into the national criminal procedural system. Meanwhile, customary criminal law demonstrates strong paradigmatic alignment with restorative justice, particularly in terms of community participation and social restoration. The study concludes that reforming national criminal law by integrating restorative justice principles based on customary law is essential to bridge the gap between positive law and living law, thereby fostering a more responsive, humane, and substantively just criminal justice system aligned with Indonesia's socio-cultural values.
References
Adhi Wibisana, A. A. N., Wisnumurti, A. A. G. O., Budiartha, I. N. P., & Dewi, A. A. S. L. (2024). Legal reform on the concept of restorative justice in the criminal justice system. Jurnal Pembaharuan Hukum, 11(2), 264–281. https://doi.org/10.26532/jph.v11i2.32082
Andriyani, L., Gunawan, M. M., & Manitra, R. R. M. (2026). Restorative justice in criminal cases in Indonesia: The urgency of reinterpretation and concept for reform. Indonesian Journal of Crime and Criminal Justice, 2(1), 154–195.
Anggarini, K. P., Julianto, E., Suntoni, Asmara, T., & Waluyadi. (2024). Implementation of restorative justice regarding child violence cases in law enforcement in the police. Journal of Lifestyle and SDGs Review, 5(2), e03330.
Antari, P. E. D. (2021). Pemenuhan hak anak yang mengalami kekerasan seksual berbasis restorative justice pada masyarakat Tenganan Pegringsingan, Karangasem, Bali. Jurnal HAM, 12(1), 75–90.
Anindyajati, T. I. N. R., & Onita, A. A. D. (2015). Konstitusionalitas norma sanksi pidana sebagai ultimum remedium dalam pembentukan perundang-undangan. Jurnal Konstitusi, 12(4).
Armstrong, A. W., Warren, R. B., Zhong, Y., Zhuo, J., Cichewicz, A., Kadambi, A., et al. (2023). Short-, mid-, and long-term efficacy of deucravacitinib versus biologics and nonbiologics for plaque psoriasis: A network meta-analysis. Dermatology and Therapy, 13(11), 2839–2857. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-023-01034-7
Asmui, A., Alfitra, A., Mansur, A., Furqon, A. A., & Danial, A. (2022). Implementasi restorative justice dalam penyelesaian sengketa hukum pidana di masyarakat Minangkabau. SALAM: Jurnal Sosial dan Budaya Syar-i, 9(3), 995–1022. https://doi.org/10.15408/sjsbs.v9i3.26294
Danil, E. (2020). Penerapan prinsip ultimum remedium terhadap tindak pidana administrasi. Jurnal Hukum Pidana dan Kriminologi, 1(1).
Disantara, F. P. (2021). Konsep pluralisme hukum khas Indonesia sebagai strategi menghadapi era modernisasi hukum. Al-Adalah: Jurnal Hukum dan Politik Islam, 6(1), 1–36.
Egeberg, A., Merola, J. F., Schäkel, K., Puig, L., Mahar, P. D., Wang, I. Y., et al. (2022). Efficacy of ixekizumab in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. Frontiers in Medicine, 9, 1092688. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.1092688
Eisen, M., Hartmane, I., Kingo, K., et al. (2025). The real-world burden of moderate-to-severe psoriasis in patients under systemic treatment from Baltic countries: Data from the CRYSTAL observational study. Medicina, 61(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61030397
Erlina, Jamilah, & Yulianah, Y. (2025). Living law in society as a legal consideration in the settlement of disputes between customary legal communities in Indonesia. International Journal of Research and Review, 12(11), 318–328.
Faisal, Yanto, A., Rahayu, D. P., Haryadi, D., Darmawan, A., & Manik, J. D. N. (2024). Genuine paradigm of criminal justice: Rethinking penal reform within Indonesia’s new Criminal Code. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1), 2301634. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2301634
Hafrida, H. (2019). Restorative justice in juvenile justice to formulate integrated child criminal court. Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan, 8(3), 439–457. https://doi.org/10.25216/jhp.8.3.2019.439-457
Hartmane, I., Ivdra, I., Mikažāns, I., & Bondare-ansberga, V. (2021). Immunopathogenic treatment options for psoriasis patients under a restrictive reimbursement environment. Pro Litteris et Scientia, 75(3), 158–166. https://doi.org/10.2478/prolas-2021-0025
Honma, M., Cai, Z., Burge, R., et al. (2020). Relationship between rapid skin clearance and quality of life benefit. Dermatology and Therapy, 10(6), 1397–1404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-020-00441-4
Langley, R. G., Papp, K., Gooderham, M., et al. (2018). Efficacy and safety of ixekizumab in IXORA-P trial. The British Journal of Dermatology, 178(6), 1315–1323. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.16426
Leonardi, C., Matheson, R., Zachariae, C., et al. (2012). Anti-interleukin-17 monoclonal antibody ixekizumab in chronic plaque psoriasis. The New England Journal of Medicine, 366(13), 1190–1199. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1109997
Leonardi, C., Reich, K., Foley, P., et al. (2020). Long-term efficacy of ixekizumab. Dermatology and Therapy, 10(3), 431–447. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-020-00367-x
Li, X., Zheng, J., Pan, W.-L., et al. (2022). Efficacy and safety of ixekizumab in Chinese patients. International Journal of Dermatology and Venereology, 5(4).
Liu, L., Lu, J., Allan, B. W., et al. (2016). Generation of ixekizumab. Journal of Inflammation Research, 9, 39–50. https://doi.org/10.2147/JIR.S100940
Lockshin, B., Cronin, A., Harrison, R. W., et al. (2021). Drug survival of ixekizumab. Dermatologic Therapy, 34(2), e14808. https://doi.org/10.1111/dth.14808
Mahil, S. K., Wilson, N., Dand, N., et al. (2020). Psoriasis treat to target. The British Journal of Dermatology, 182(5), 1158–1166. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.18333
Maryano, M., Mulyadi, L., & Ogan, M. (2021). Adat penal decision in Indonesia legal practice. EAI Endorsed Transactions on Social Sciences and Humanities.
Morita, A., Okubo, Y., Morisaki, Y., et al. (2022). Ixekizumab in generalized pustular psoriasis. Dermatology and Therapy, 12(2), 481–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-021-00666-x
Mulyadi, L., & Sianturi, R. H. (2015). Indonesian customary court concept in the future. Asian Social Science, 11(12), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v11n12p1
Pasapan, P., Titahelu, J. A., & Latumaerissa, D. (2022). Delik adat dalam sistem hukum pidana di Indonesia. TATOHI: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, 2(2), 137–148.
Reksodiputro, M. (2019). Mendorong pendekatan keadilan restoratif dalam pembaharuan hukum pidana Indonesia. Seminar Nasional Universitas Pancasila.
Reich, K., Augustin, M., Thaçi, D., et al. (2020). Ixekizumab vs methotrexate. The British Journal of Dermatology, 182(4), 869–879. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.18384
Saeki, H., Nakagawa, H., Nakajo, K., et al. (2017). Ixekizumab in Japanese patients. Journal of Dermatology, 44(4), 355–362.
Strober, B., Leonardi, C., Papp, K. A., et al. (2017). Safety outcomes with ixekizumab. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 76(3), 432–440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2016.09.037
Sudantra, I K. (2017). Hukum adat sebagai perwujudan kearifan lokal. Seminar STAHN-TP Palangkaraya.
Sukardi, S., & Purnama, H. R. (2022). Restorative justice principles in Indonesia. Journal of Indonesian Legal Studies, 7(1), 155–190. https://doi.org/10.15294/jils.v7i1.53057
Suartha, I D. M. (2015). Pergeseran asas legalitas formal ke material. Jurnal Yustitia, 4(4).
Utama, T. S. J. (2021). Between adat law and living law. Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 53(2), 269–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2021.1945222
Wasel, N., Thaçi, D., French, L. E., et al. (2020). IXORA-S nail psoriasis study. Dermatology and Therapy, 10(4), 663–670. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-020-00383-x
Wiratraman, H. P. (2022). Adat court in Indonesia’s judiciary system. Journal of Asian Social Science Research, 4(1), 43–62.
Wulandari, C., Rochaeti, N., Mahmud, A., & Sukinta. (2022). Penal mediation in Dayak Ngaju. Lex Scientia Law Review, 6(1), 69–92.
Ying, L., Suyun, J., Yanhua, L., et al. (2023). Observational study ixekizumab in China. Advances in Therapy, 40(12), 5464–5474. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-023-02672-1
Yulia, R., Prakarsa, A., & Bustami, M. R. (2023). Harmonizing adat obligations and state law. Journal of Indonesian Legal Studies, 8(2), 803–854. https://doi.org/10.15294/jils.v8i2.72283
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Putu Ulandari Sri Lestari, I Made Sudharma
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International. that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
