Legal Analysis of the Termination of Prosecution Based on Restorative Justice in the Indonesian Criminal Justice System

Abstract

Purpose of the study: The legal regulation of termination of prosecution based on restorative justice, the position and authority of the Prosecutor's Office in exercising that authority, and the conformity of the policy with the theories and purposes of punishment in Indonesian criminal law. Methodology: The study employs normative legal research using a statutory approach and a conceptual approach. Primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials were collected through library research and analysed qualitatively with deductive reasoning. Main Findings: The regulation of termination of prosecution based on restorative justice is layered: its legitimacy is drawn from the opportunity principle in Article 30B of Law No. 11 of 2021, while operational norms are contained in Prosecutor's Regulation No. 15 of 2020 and Attorney General's Regulation No. 8 of 2021, both policy regulations (beleidsregel) outside the hierarchy of legislation under Law No. 12 of 2011. The Prosecutor's Office exercises authority as dominus litis through a tiered mechanism bounded by cumulative formal and material requirements. The policy is coherent with relative and integrative theories of punishment and with the purposes of punishment adopted in the new Criminal Code, though it cannot be justified through absolute theory. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study situates restorative-justice-based prosecution termination at the intersection of prosecutorial discretion, criminal law theory, and regulatory hierarchy in Indonesia. It advances existing knowledge by exposing the formal fragility of a substantively justified practice and offering concrete recommendations for statutory anchoring in the forthcoming Criminal Procedure Code, uniform assessment parameters, an objection mechanism for the parties, and external oversight, addressing persistent legal uncertainty in Indonesian criminal justice reform.