Application of Restorative Justice in Settlement of Child Crime According to the Law Enforcement Theory and Progressive Law

This study aims to analyze the application of the concept of Restorative Justice in Child Crimes that occur in the investigation stage at the Police, prosecution at the Prosecutor's Office and examination at the Court and the challenges and obstacles to the application of Restorative Justice in resolving Criminal Cases at the Police, Prosecutor's Office and Court. Each law enforcement agency has prepared guidelines for carrying out restorative justice as regulated in various regulations, but in practice there are still differences in perception and implementation. The regulation of restorative justice in various different regulations is feared to cause differences in perception. There is no comprehensive definition and explanation of restorative justice which has the potential to hinder its implementation by law enforcement officers. This study is a qualitative study with a normative approach and uses a statute approach. This study shows that the practice of implementing restorative justice in child crimes in conflict with the law has not succeeded in protecting children's human rights in Indonesia. Law enforcement institutions in Indonesia have not succeeded in providing legal protection for children's human rights in Indonesia. Law enforcement institutions in Indonesia are still trapped in legal formalism so that restorative justice has not become a priority in not succeeding in providing legal protection for children's human rights in Indonesia. In the application of restorative justice in criminal acts, it often arises from the law enforcement itself. For example, the police, prosecutors, and advocates who become obstacles because the perspective developed prioritizes settlement through the courts. On the other hand, in the peace process, it is related to differences of opinion in compensation for the interests of the victim, the victim and his family reject peace or there is a power relationship that experiences difficulties in achieving the restorative justice process. Philosophically, restorative justice is closely related to the theory of progressive law which prioritizes the resolution of legal problems substantively to achieve the goal of law enforcement that does not only see the law as written in the legislation (according to the letter), but according to the spirit and deeper meaning (to the very meaning) of the law. Progressive legal thinking offers the need for progressive law enforcement that is pro-people and pro-justice to provide happiness to the people and their nation. Progressive law and restorative justice go beyond positivistic legal regulations and documents and side with local wisdom and the law that lives in society.