Structuring Restorative Justice in the Integrated Criminal Justice System to Realize Legal Certainty

Dian Ekawaty Ismail; Avelia Rahmah Y. Mantali; Azmi Syahputra; Mohamad Rivaldi Moha

doi:10.33756/eslaj.v8i2.41776

Structuring Restorative Justice in the Integrated Criminal Justice System to Realize Legal Certainty

Dian Ekawaty Ismail, Avelia Rahmah Y. Mantali, Azmi Syahputra, Mohamad Rivaldi Moha

Abstract

Indonesia’s criminal law is shifting from a retributive toward a corrective, rehabilitative, and restorative paradigm. Restorative justice was previously scattered across sectoral regulations, producing differing standards among criminal justice subsystems. Law Number 20 of 2025 on the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) changed this by placing restorative justice in Articles 79 to 88. This normative legal research, using statutory, conceptual, and analytical approaches, analyzes the regulation and practice of restorative justice in the Integrated Criminal Justice System and formulates an ideal structuring concept to guarantee legal certainty. The findings show that the 2025 KUHAP provides a stronger normative foundation, yet problems remain concerning implementing regulations, harmonization with sectoral rules, oversight at early stages of proceedings, and victim protection. This research proposes an Integrated Restorative Justice Structuring Model that combines a legal framework, eight operational stages, and a branching mechanism. The model moves restorative justice from mere reconciliation toward measurable recovery and places the discretion of law enforcement officials within objective, transparent, and supervisable limits, so that restorative justice becomes a legal mechanism delivering certainty, justice, and expediency.

Keywords

Integrated Criminal Justice System; Legal Certainty; Restorative Justice; Structuring

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References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.33756/eslaj.v8i2.41776