Awang Long Law Review
Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026): Awang Long Law Review

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN JUVENILE CRIME CASES IN INDONESIA

Sabel Natania Simanjuntak (Faculty of Law, Internasional Batam University, Batam, Indonesia)
Abdurrakhman Alhakim (Faculty of Law, Internasional Batam University, Batam, Indonesia)
Emiliya Febriyani (Faculty of Law, Internasional Batam University, Batam, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
08 Oct 2026

Abstract

Safeguarding children in legal conflicts is an essential element of the state's commitment to accommodating human rights and establishing fair judicial mechanisms. The philosophical transformation from a retributive approach to restorative justice has been formalized through Law No. 11 of 2012 on the Criminal Justice System for Children. This study aims to analyze the effective implementation of restorative justice in the juvenile criminal justice system and to identify the factors that influence its implementation. The methodology used is normative jurisprudence with a statutory, conceptual, and comparative approach, analyzed using Soerjono Soekanto's theory of legal effectiveness. The research findings indicate that although the normative construction of restorative justice is adequately available, its implementation has not reached an optimal level. The primary obstacles include weaknesses in technical operational regulations, disparities in interpretation among law enforcement officials, limited resource capacity, and a legal culture that still leans toward a punitive orientation. A comparative study with practices in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Singapore demonstrates that the success of restorative justice is greatly influenced by institutional clarity, standardization of implementer competencies, and integrated supervision mechanisms. Based on these findings, this study re_commends consolidating implementing regulations, improving the capabilities of law enforcement officials, and establishing a continuous evaluation system to realize a juvenile justice system that is fair and oriented towards child protection.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

awl

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

Awang Long Law Review known as the ALLRev launched on November 1, 2018 and inaugurated formally by Chairman of the Awang Long School of Law. Besides "The Juris" Journal of Legal Sciences, Awang Long Law Review (ALLRev) is the official journal of the Awang Long School of Law published biannually (May ...