The Implementation of Restorative Justice in Indonesian Criminal Proceedings: Challenges, Opportunities, and Legal Implications

Junaidi (Sjakhyakirti University)

Journal of Strafvordering Indonesian
Vol. 3 No. 4 (2026): JOSI - SEPTEMBER

Restorative justice has emerged as one of the most consequential paradigm shifts in Indonesian criminal law, redirecting the focus of criminal proceedings away from retribution and toward the restoration of victims, offenders, and the wider community.  This article examines how restorative justice is implemented across Indonesia's criminal justice institutions, namely the police, the prosecution service, and the courts, and situates that implementation within the normative architecture built by the Criminal Procedure Code, Prosecutorial Regulation Number 15 of 2020 on the Termination of Prosecution Based on Restorative Justice, National Police Regulation Number 8 of 2021, and the newly enacted National Criminal Code, Law Number 1 of 2023.  Employing a normative-doctrinal legal research method supported by secondary empirical data, the study identifies persistent structural obstacles, including inconsistent regional application, an imbalance in bargaining position between victims and offenders, and the categorical exclusion of serious offences such as corruption from restorative mechanisms.  At the same time, the article argues that restorative justice offers substantial opportunities for reducing prison overcrowding, revitalising community and customary dispute resolution, and aligning Indonesia's criminal justice system with Pancasila values and international victim-protection standards.  The findings further show that the coming into force of the National Criminal Code on 2 January 2026 carries significant legal implications for the harmonisation of restorative justice regulations, the protection of legal certainty, and the future codification of restorative sanctions within formal criminal procedure.  The article concludes that restorative justice in Indonesia remains a promising yet unevenly institutionalised instrument of criminal justice reform, whose long-term success depends on consistent regulatory harmonisation, adequate institutional capacity, and sustained protection of victims' substantive rights.