Legal Certainty and the Reconstruction of Death Penalty Implementation for Premeditated Murder after the Enactment of Indonesia’s New Criminal Code: A Human Rights and Restorative Justice Perspective
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2026-07-31Downloads
Abstract
The death penalty for premeditated murder remains one of the most controversial issues in Indonesia’s criminal justice system because it involves legal certainty, justice, and human rights considerations. This study aims to analyze the legal certainty of the implementation of the death penalty for premeditated murder and to examine the reconstruction of capital punishment after the enactment of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the New Criminal Code. This research employs a normative juridical method using statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches. The study relies on secondary legal materials, including legislation, legal doctrines, books, and scientific journal articles related to criminal law and capital punishment. The findings reveal that the New Criminal Code reconstructs the death penalty from an ordinary principal punishment into a special and conditional punishment imposed only as a last resort. The introduction of a ten-year probationary period provides death row convicts with an opportunity for rehabilitation and possible commutation into life imprisonment based on good behavior and personal reform. However, the implementation of this mechanism still faces challenges concerning legal certainty, particularly due to the absence of clear and objective assessment standards. Furthermore, the current system does not adequately accommodate restorative justice principles because victims’ families are not substantially involved in the sentence evaluation process. Therefore, clearer implementing regulations and greater recognition of victims’ rights are necessary to ensure fairness, transparency, and consistency in the implementation of capital punishment in Indonesia. The reconstruction of the death penalty under the New Criminal Code reflects Indonesia’s effort to modernize its criminal justice system while balancing retributive justice, rehabilitation, legal certainty, and human dignity.
Keywords:
Legal Certainty Death Penalty Premeditated Murder Criminal Law Reform Restorative Justice New Criminal CodeReferences
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Copyright (c) 2026 Abdul Kadir, Suparji Ahmad, Ahmad Redi, Faisal Santiago, Ibnu Sina Chandranegara, Upik Mutiara
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