Restorative Juvenile Justice in Indonesia: Its Strengths and Weaknesses

The concept of restorative justice may refer to an alternative method for resolving problems, including violations of criminal law, and is highly recognised in Indonesia. The Act Number 11, 2012 on the Juvenile Justice System recognises the restorative justice method as an integral component of the criminal justice system for addressing issues involving children in conflict with the law. It has become a crucial stipulation in the Act, offering law enforcement the option to refrain from penalising young offenders using conventional criminal methods. This research seeks to analyse restorative justice for juvenile offenders in Indonesia, grounded in the Juvenile Justice System Act Number 11, 2012, as an alternative dispute resolution for juvenile offences and associated legislation. It also aims to succinctly outline the implementation of restorative justice within the Indonesian criminal justice system concerning minors in conflict with the law. The topic is bifurcated into two segments: restorative justice within the Juvenile Justice System Act of 2012 and strategies for mitigating juvenile delinquency in Indonesia. This paper utilises doctrinal legal research to address these research objectives. The findings show that the Act of 2012 requires restorative justice for diversion. It's crucial to Indonesia's juvenile offender diversion program. The Act approach is part of Indonesian customary values, covers the entire juvenile justice system, aids diversion, and prevents juvenile offenders from being imprisoned. Restorative justice has no legal consequence if the JJS Act 2012's law enforcers fail to implement it, its process is weak without diversion, its implementation is inconsistent, and it is expensive and time-consuming.