Sapientia Diversalis: Journal of Human Interaction and Social Studies
Vol. 1 No. 2 (2026): : May: Sapientia Diversalis: Journal of Human Interaction and Social Studies

Aristotle’s Distributive Justice as the Basis for Evaluating Criteria for Low-Income Individuals Receiving Legal Aid

Indra Purwanto (Walisongo State Islamic University)



Article Info

Publish Date
17 May 2026

Abstract

This study examines the philosophical and juridical foundations of legal aid eligibility criteria for low income individuals in Indonesia through the perspective of Aristotle’s distributive justice. The research employs a non empirical normative legal method using statutory, conceptual, and philosophical approaches. Primary legal materials include the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia of 1945, Law Number 16 of 2011 concerning Legal Aid, and Government Regulation Number 42 of 2013. The analysis reveals that the existing legal aid framework primarily relies on administrative indicators of poverty, particularly certificates of indigence and social assistance documentation. While these mechanisms provide procedural certainty, they do not adequately capture actual legal vulnerability, social exclusion, and barriers to accessing justice. Aristotle’s distributive justice demonstrates that the allocation of legal aid should be based on proportional need rather than formal administrative status alone. The study proposes a reconstructed eligibility model incorporating economic capacity, social vulnerability, legal access barriers, legal literacy, and structural disadvantage. Such a framework strengthens substantive justice, improves the accuracy of legal aid distribution, and enhances the realization of equal access to justice within Indonesia’s constitutional legal order.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

sapientiadiversalis

Publisher

Subject

Description

Sapientia Diversalis: Journal of Human Interaction and Social Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to the publication of high-quality scholarly works in the fields of human interaction, social studies, and interdisciplinary social science research. The journal serves as an ...