Examining the Death Penalty in Indonesia using the Dignified Justice Theory

The death penalty or capital punishment is still recognized and remains in effect within Indonesia’s legal system. Although it was widely known during the Dutch colonial period and lately has been abolished in the Netherlands, Indonesia continues to retain it. Evidence of the death penalty’s legacy from the Dutch can be found in Indonesia’s 1946 Criminal Code Act. This study was conducted to provide a scientific description and explanation of the existence of the death penalty in Indonesia. Theoretical framework used in this research is the Indonesian legal theory known as the Dignified Justice theory. The basic premise of the theory is that the law serves as a meeting point between Divine thought and human thought, grounded in Pancasila, to uphold human dignity. Thus, the legislation governing the death penalty, as a derivative of Pancasila, is viewed as a manifestation of the derivative of the meeting point (Pancasila), aimed at making human being humane (nguwongke uwong). Guided by the Dignified Justice theory and employing normative legal research methods, the research has found that certain human rights, such as the right to life can indeed be restricted within Indonesia’s Pancasila-based legal system, which allows for the death penalty. However, the death penalty has been softened under the newly enacted Indonesian National Criminal Code. This mitigation is achieved by making the death penalty a conditional punishment. Furthermore, for some time now, under Indonesia’s human rights legislation, the death penalty can no longer be applied to children.