<![CDATA[This study examines the sentencing of children as an ultimum remedium within the juvenile criminal justice system and the legal protection afforded to children as offenders and as victims. The research focuses on the concept of ultimum remedium in the sentencing of children under Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System and on the forms of legal protection provided to children in their capacity as offenders and as victims of criminal acts. The study employs normative juridical research with statutory and case approaches. Primary and secondary legal materials are analyzed through grammatical, systematic, and teleological interpretation by linking the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, the Child Protection Law, the Juvenile Criminal Justice System Law, the Criminal Code, implementing regulations, legal doctrine, and relevant court decisions. The findings show that the principle of ultimum remedium does not merely place imprisonment as the option of last resort; it also limits the entire exercise of the state’s punitive authority over children, from investigation and prosecution through trial and sentencing to the execution of judgments. Diversion, restorative justice, measures, and non-custodial penalties must be prioritized before imprisonment is considered. Legal protection for child offenders is realized through the accurate determination of age and capacity for criminal responsibility, legal assistance, accompaniment, child-friendly examinations, identity protection, consideration of social inquiry reports, individualized sanctions, rehabilitation, and social reintegration. Protection for child victims includes prompt handling, guarantees of security, identity protection, prevention of secondary victimization, legal and psychological assistance, restitution, rehabilitation, social recovery, and continuity of education]]>
