Unauthorized land occupation continues to pose significant legal challenges in Indonesia by intersecting criminal liability, civil property rights, land administration, and social conflict. Although criminal proceedings may result in convictions, they rarely restore possession to lawful landholders, who must pursue separate civil actions to recover land or obtain compensation. This fragmentation exposes a gap in the existing enforcement framework, where criminal justice emphasizes punishment but provides limited mechanisms for rights restoration. This study examines the shortcomings of criminal law enforcement in cases of unauthorized land occupation and develops a reconstruction model aimed at achieving substantive justice. Employing normative juridical research through statutory, conceptual, historical, case, and comparative approaches, the study identifies structural weaknesses, including outdated sanctions, fragmented criminal–civil procedures, ineffective execution mechanisms, and weak institutional coordination. The findings demonstrate that criminal law should extend beyond determining liability by incorporating integrated remedies such as restitution, judicial orders restoring land possession, proportionate economic sanctions, specialized land adjudication, and coordinated institutional enforcement. This study contributes to criminal law scholarship by proposing an integrated enforcement model that reconciles punitive and restorative functions, thereby strengthening legal certainty and enhancing the practical protection of lawful land rights.
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