DECOLONIZING INDONESIAN PENAL LAW THROUGH INDIGENOUS JUSTICE: RECONSTRUCTING THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMARY CRIMINAL LAW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25041/iplr.v7i2.5357Abstract
Indonesia's criminal law reflects the legacy of Dutch colonialism despite the enactment of the new Penal Code, which recognizes living law and customary criminal law. Although prior studies have examined customary justice through restorative justice and legal pluralism, few have positioned Indigenous justice as a normative framework for decolonizing Indonesian penal law. This study addresses that gap using normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, historical, and comparative approaches. The findings show that colonial legal rationality continues to shape Indonesia's state-centered, punitive criminal justice system, marginalizing Indigenous conceptions of justice based on communal responsibility, restoration, and social harmony. The study argues that Indigenous justice should serve not merely as a complementary dispute resolution mechanism but as a normative foundation for reconstructing Indonesian penal law within a plural constitutional order. By integrating postcolonial legal theory with Indonesia's living law tradition, this study contributes to scholarship on penal decolonization and offers practical guidance for developing a more restorative, culturally legitimate, and socially responsive criminal justice system.
Keywords:
Decolonization, Indigenous Justice, Customary Criminal Law, Legal Pluralism, Penal ReformDownloads
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