Iustitia Criminal Science (ICS)
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): Edition July-December (2026)

CUSTOMARY ADJUDICATION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE UNDER ARTICLE 2 OF INDONESIA'S NEW PENAL CODE: EVIDENCE FROM KAYAN HULU

Sri Ayu Astuti (Universitas Wisnuwardhana Malang)
Berthi Ramadhani P (Universitas Borneo Tarakan)
Alfonso Soares (Universidade da Paz)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Sep 2026

Abstract

Article 2 of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Indonesian Criminal Code restores living law as a source of criminal liability, while leaving the criteria, procedures, and scope of recognition to an implementing government regulation that has not yet been enacted. This study examines customary settlement of domestic violence cases in Kayan Hulu Sub-district, Malinau Regency, North Kalimantan, and its constraints within the national legal framework. Using normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches, it draws on the 1945 Constitution, Law No. 1 of 2023, Law No. 23 of 2004, Law No. 12 of 2022, and Law No. 7 of 2012, supplemented by interviews with customary officials conducted from August 2025 to January 2026. The findings show that the customary forum, led by the Ngau together with the Head of Custom and Lit Adat Ngau, resolves cases through six deliberative stages culminating in tunggu and restorative rituals. It handles minor psychological violence and household neglect but excludes serious physical and sexual violence. Five constraints were identified: authority deficits, jurisdictional dualism, weak deterrence, absence of written procedure, and inadequate victim protection. Turkish law, while excluding custom as a source of criminal liability, retains state-supervised restorative mechanisms through mediation and protective measures. The comparison identifies two key safeguards: offence-category-based jurisdictional thresholds and victim-consent review outside the deliberative forum. The article proposes a four-layer normative architecture for the implementing regulation of Article 2 centred on victim protection.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ics

Publisher

Subject

Description

Aim Iustitia Criminal Science is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal focusing on the study of criminal law and criminal justice systems from doctrinal, socio-legal, and comparative perspectives. The journal publishes original research that examines the transformation of criminal law and law ...