Legal Certainty and Medical Ethics for Physicians in the Implementation of Chemical Castration Law

Aldhitama Ramadhan (Program Studi Ilmu Hukum, Fakultas Hukum dan Bisnis, Universitas Duta Bangsa Surakarta, Indonesia)
Hery Dwi Utomo (rogram Studi Ilmu Hukum, Fakultas Hukum dan Bisnis, Universitas Duta Bangsa Surakarta, Indonesia)
Rina Arum Prastyanti (Program Studi Ilmu Hukum, Fakultas Hukum dan Bisnis, Universitas Duta Bangsa Surakarta, Indonesia)

JIHAD : Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Administrasi
Vol. 8 No. 3 (2026): JIHAD : Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Administrasi

Chemical castration as an additional punishment for perpetrators of sexual violence against children has been regulated under Law No. 17 of 2016, further elaborated in Government Regulation No. 70 of 2020. However, its implementation creates a normative conflict between positive law and medical ethics codes. This study aims to analyze the ethical and legal standing of physicians implementing chemical castration, as well as their corresponding ethical and legal responsibilities. Using normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, and case approaches, this study finds that ethically, physician involvement as castration executors contradicts the principles of non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice as enshrined in the Indonesian Medical Code of Ethics (KODEKI) and the Hippocratic Oath. Legally, there is a conflict between the obligations mandated by Government Regulation No. 70 of 2020 and the physician's function as a healthcare professional under Law No. 29 of 2004 on Medical Practice. The MKEK IDI Fatwa No. 1 of 2016 affirms the medical profession's rejection of such an executor role. The author concludes that physicians should be positioned as medical evaluation and rehabilitation experts rather than castration executors, and that regulatory harmonization involving the IDI, academics, and legislators is necessary to resolve existing normative conflicts.