Reconstruction of Decency Offenses in the New Indonesian Criminal Code: A Human Rights and Public Morality Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56107/penalaw.v4i1.319Keywords:
legal reconstruction, decency offenses, human rights, public morality, criminalizationAbstract
Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code broadens decency offenses, particularly adultery under Article 411 and cohabitation under Article 412, generating tension between the protection of public morality and respect for human rights. This study aims to analyze the regulation of decency offenses in the new Criminal Code from a human rights perspective, to identify the imbalance between the protection of morality and individual rights, and to formulate a norm reconstruction model. This normative legal research employs statutory, conceptual, philosophical, and comparative approaches, drawing on primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials analyzed qualitatively and descriptively. The findings show that the regulation of decency offenses remains dominated by a public-morality approach and is weak in protecting individual rights; extending criminalization to consensual relations between adults moves self-regarding conduct into the criminal domain, which is difficult to justify under the harm principle. Measured against the three purposes of law, the provisions are weak on legal certainty because of ambiguous formulation, weak on justice because they burden basic liberty without a harm justification, and weak on utility because criminalizing consensual conduct tends to be ineffective and adds to enforcement burdens. In response, the study formulates a reconstruction model based on five parameters, namely a harm threshold, the private-public boundary, proportionality and ultima ratio, normative clarity, and value harmonization, designed to reconcile the protection of public morality with respect for constitutional rights within the framework of Pancasila. This model is expected to serve as a reference for reforming national criminal law policy.
References
Abdillah, J., Nurhayati, T., Najichah, N., Zohara, L., & Tholchah, M. (2024). Contribution Model of al-Mas'ūliyyah al-Jinā'iyyah in the Formulation of Criminal Liability in Indonesia’s New Criminal Code. Al-Ahkam, 34(2), 367-392. https://doi.org/10.21580/ahkam.2024.34.2.22592
Adriaenssen, A., Paoli, L., Karstedt, S., Visschers, J., Greenfield, V. A., & Pleysier, S. (2020). Public perceptions of the seriousness of crime: Weighing the harm and the wrong. European Journal of Criminology, 17(2), 127-150. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370818772768
Arief, B. N. (2018). Bunga rampai kebijakan hukum pidana: Perkembangan penyusunan konsep KUHP baru. Kencana.
Arifin, R., Wulandari, C., Muliadi, M., Utari, I. S., & Munandar, T. I. (2023). A Discourse of Justice and Legal Certainty in Stolen Assets Recovery in Indonesia: Analysis of Radbruch’s Formula and Friedman’s Theory. Volksgeist: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Konstitusi, 159-181. https://doi.org/10.24090/volksgeist.v6i2.9596
Bachri, S., Samuri, M. A. A., Moosa, N., Duran, B. N., & Ramadhita, R. (2023). The Criminalization of Polyamory Perspective Islamic Penal Law and Indonesian New Penal Code. Al-Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum Islam, 8(2 November), 406. https://doi.org/10.29240/jhi.v8i2.7221
Bakshi, K. (2025). Marriage, Courts, and Substantive Equality: A Transformative Interpretation. Michigan Law Review(123.3), 519. https://doi.org/10.36644/mlr.123.3.marriage
Bell, M. C. (2020). John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle and Free Speech: Expanding the Notion of Harm. Utilitas, 33(2), 162-179. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0953820820000229
Bracaccini, F. (2025). Procedural Public Wrongs. Criminal Law and Philosophy, 20(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11572-025-09760-z
Butt, S. (2023). Indonesia’s new Criminal Code: indigenising and democratising Indonesian criminal law?. Griffith Law Review, 32(2), 190-214. https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2023.2243772
Cinar, Ö. H. (2020). The current case law of the European Court of Human Rights on privacy: challenges in the digital age. The International Journal of Human Rights, 25(1), 26-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2020.1747443
Cuypers, S. E. (2024). H.L.A. Hart on Legal Moralism and Social Morality. Roczniki Filozoficzne, 72(3), 239-257. https://doi.org/10.18290/rf24723.11
Danial, D., Yoesoef, Y. M., & M, N. S. D. (2023). Sexual Violence in the Islamic Law Perspective: Aceh Islamic Law and Local Wisdom Approach. Ulumuna, 27(1), 367-389. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v27i1.677
De Londras, F., Cleeve, A., Rodriguez, M. I., Farrell, A., Furgalska, M., & Lavelanet, A. (2022). The impact of criminalisation on abortion-related outcomes: a synthesis of legal and health evidence. BMJ Global Health, 7(12), e010409. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2022-010409
Debbaut, S. (2022). The legitimacy of criminalizing drugs: Applying the ‘harm principle’ of John Stuart Mill to contemporary decision-making. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 68, 100508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2021.100508
Devlin, P. (1965). The enforcement of morals. Oxford University Press.
Edwards, J. (2023). Legal imperfectionism. Jurisprudence, 15(3), 282-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/20403313.2023.2259237
Elfa Murdiana, Nunung Rodliyah, Rudi Natamiharja, M. Nur Fathoni, & Gautam Kumar Jha (2026). <b>The Victim's Best Interest Principle in Islamic Law: An Examination of the Substance of Sexual Violence in Muslim Majority Countries in the Contemporary Era</b>. MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review, 5(1), 33-60. https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v5i1.10654
Faisal, Yanto, A., Rahayu, D. P., Haryadi, D., Darmawan, A., & Manik, J. D. N. (2024). Genuine paradigm of criminal justice: rethinking penal reform within Indonesia New Criminal Code. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2301634
Feinberg, J. (1984). Harm to others: The moral limits of the criminal law (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press.
Gibney, E., & Wyatt, T. (2020). Rebuilding the Harm Principle: Using an Evolutionary Perspective to Provide a New Foundation for Justice. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 9(3), 100-115. https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v9i3.1280
Hadjon, P. M. (1987). Perlindungan hukum bagi rakyat di Indonesia. Bina Ilmu.
Hardinanto, A., Arief, B. N., Setiyono, J., Fernando, Z. J., & Sabrina, N. (2024). Critical Analysis of Living Law Formulation in Law No. 1 of 2023 Concerning the Criminal Code: Towards Law Reform to Realize Justice with the Spirit of Pancasila. Journal of Law and Legal Reform, 5(3), 1029-1066. https://doi.org/10.15294/jllr.v5i3.13923
Hart, H. L. A. (1963). Law, liberty, and morality. Stanford University Press.
Husak, D. (2023). Six Questions About Overcriminalization. Annual Review of Criminology, 6(1), 265-284. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-030421-040411
Ismidar Ismidar, Tamaulina Br. Sembiring, & Saphta Nugraha Isa (2024). Politics Of Legislation As Socio-Equilibrium In Indonesia. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 1(4), 148-156. https://doi.org/10.62951/ijlcj.v1i4.284
Jamaludin, A., Ramdani, Z., & Saputra, D. D. (2025). Caning and Penal Legitimacy: The Double Movement of Aceh’s Qanun Jinayat Under Indonesia’s New Criminal Code. Jurnal Hukum Islam, 23(2), 685-716. https://doi.org/10.28918/jhi.v23i2.10
Janderová, J., & Hubálková, P. (2021). Legal Certainty – Protected Values and Partial Objectives: The Case of the Czech Republic. Central European Public Administration Review, 19(1), 63-82. https://doi.org/10.17573/cepar.2021.1.03
Joyce, T. (2025). Criminalised Sex Work and the Violation of the Ultima Ratio Principle of Criminal Law. Tilburg Law Review, 30(1), 19-25. https://doi.org/10.5334/tilr.440
Jumain Azizi, Roibin Roibin, & Zaenul Mahmudi (2025). Reformulation of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) Number 1 of 2023 Article 445 Paragraph (1) Item 1. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 2(4), 15-21. https://doi.org/10.62951/ijlcj.v2i4.819
Kavanagh, M. M., Agbla, S. C., Joy, M., Aneja, K., Pillinger, M., Case, A., Erondu, N. A., Erkkola, T., & Graeden, E. (2021). Law, criminalisation and HIV in the world: have countries that criminalise achieved more or less successful pandemic response?. BMJ Global Health, 6(8), e006315. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006315
Lacey, N., & Pickard, H. (2021). Why Standing to Blame May Be Lost but Authority to Hold Accountable Retained: Criminal Law as a Regulative Public Institution. The Monist, 104(2), 265-280. https://doi.org/10.1093/monist/onaa028
Lee, J., & Choi, Y. (2025). Decriminalization of adultery likely changed women’s views on divorce following spousal infidelity in South Korea. Demographic Research, 52, 111-124. https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2025.52.4
Lee, Y. (2022). Proxy Crimes and Overcriminalization. Criminal Law and Philosophy, 16(3), 469-484. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11572-021-09575-8
Lifante-Vidal, I. (2020). Is legal certainty a formal value?. Jurisprudence, 11(3), 456-467. https://doi.org/10.1080/20403313.2020.1778289
Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia. (2017). Putusan Nomor 46/PUU-XIV/2016. Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia.
Malby, S. (2024). Public Wrongs and Human Rights: An Orderly Approach?. Criminal Law and Philosophy, 19(2), 263-286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11572-024-09746-3
Mavronicola, N. (2024). The Case Against Human Rights Penality. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 44(3), 535-562. https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/gqae013
Menges, L. (2024). The right to privacy and the deep self. The Philosophical Quarterly, 76(3), 1138-1159. https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqae091
Mill, J. S. (1859). On liberty. John W. Parker and Son.
Mubayyinah, F., Handayani, F., & Sifa’, M. A. (2025). Legal Pluralism, Epistemic Tensions, and the Reformulation of the Adultery Offense in Indonesia’s New Penal Code. Volksgeist: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Konstitusi, 573-594. https://doi.org/10.24090/volksgeist.v8i2.14957
Natalis, A., Hardiyanti, M., & Sembiring, A. F. (2026). Sexuality, Privacy, and Human Rights: Rethinking the Criminalisation of Consensual Relationships in Indonesia. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 18(1), 77-93. https://doi.org/10.5130/ccs.v18.i1.10154
Natamiharja, R., Sabatira, F., Banjarani, D. R., Davey, O. M., & Setiawan, I. (2022). Balancing Two Conflicting Perspectives on Wiretapping Act: Rights to Privacy and Law Enforcement. Al-Risalah: Forum Kajian Hukum dan Sosial Kemasyarakatan, 22(1), 18-30. https://doi.org/10.30631/alrisalah.v22i1.1226
Pinto, M. (2023). Coercive Human Rights and the Forgotten History of the Council of Europe's Report on Decriminalisation. The Modern Law Review, 86(5), 1108-1133. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12793
Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Harvard University Press.
Republik Indonesia. (1945). Undang-Undang Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 1945.
Republik Indonesia. (1999). Undang-Undang Nomor 39 Tahun 1999 tentang Hak Asasi Manusia. Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 1999 Nomor 165.
Republik Indonesia. (2022). Undang-Undang Nomor 12 Tahun 2022 tentang Tindak Pidana Kekerasan Seksual. Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2022 Nomor 120.
Republik Indonesia. (2023). Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2023 tentang Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana. Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2023 Nomor 1.
Riyadi, S., & Prasetyo, B. T. (2021). Kebijakan Moderasi Pidana Mati dalam RUU KUHP Perspektif Nilai-Nilai Pancasila. Volksgeist: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Konstitusi, 4(2), 249-263. https://doi.org/10.24090/volksgeist.v4i2.5329
Sajó, A. (2024). Militant Rule of Law and Not-so-Bad Law. Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 16(3), 525-549. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-024-00221-8
Sarch, A. (2022). Should Criminal Law Mirror Moral Blameworthiness or Criminal Culpability? A Reply to Husak. Law and Philosophy, 41(2-3), 305-328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10982-021-09424-8
Setiawan, E. B., Mustofa, L. C., Febrianti, T. R., & Pratama, L. (2022). The Indonesian Criminal Law System's Progression in Sexual Assaults Regulation. Volksgeist: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Konstitusi, 161-177. https://doi.org/10.24090/volksgeist.v5i2.6690
Seubert, S., & Becker, C. (2021). The Democratic Impact of Strengthening European Fundamental Rights in the Digital Age: The Example of Privacy Protection. German Law Journal, 22(1), 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1017/glj.2020.101
Shcherbanyuk, O., Gordieiev, V., & Bzova, L. (2023). Legal nature of the principle of legal certainty as a component element of the rule of law. Juridical Tribune, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.24818/tbj/2023/13/1.02
Siregar, W. Z. B., & Prihatini, E. S. (2024). Passing the Sexual Violence Crime Law in Indonesia: Reflection of a Gender-Sensitive Parliament?. Politics and Governance, 12. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.8245
Suastuti, E., Haq, L. M. H., Harimurti, Y. W., & Yuherawan, D. S. B. (2024). Transformation and Effects of Human Rights Protection on Determining Corruption Suspects as a Pretrial Object under the Indonesian Criminal Justice System. Lex Scientia Law Review, 8(2), 817-858. https://doi.org/10.15294/lslr.v8i2.14667
Supardin, S., & Syatar, A. (2021). Adultery Criminalization Spirit in Islamic Criminal Law: Alternatives in Indonesia’s Positive Legal System Reform. Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga dan Hukum Islam, 5(2), 913. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v5i2.9353
Suseno, S., Ramli, A. M., Mayana, R. F., Safiranita, T., & Aurellia Nathania Tiarma, B. (2025). Cybercrime in the new criminal code in Indonesia. Cogent Social Sciences, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2439543
Taekema, S. (2020). Methodologies of Rule of Law Research: Why Legal Philosophy Needs Empirical and Doctrinal Scholarship. Law and Philosophy, 40(1), 33-66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10982-020-09388-1
Triantono, T., & Marizal, M. (2022). Konsep Moderasi Pidana Mati RKUHP dalam Perspektif HAM dan Kepentingan Negara. Volksgeist: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Konstitusi, 111-127. https://doi.org/10.24090/volksgeist.v5i1.6399
Tunick, M. (2023). J.S. Mill's Puzzling Position on Prostitution and his Harm Principle. Philosophy, 99(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1017/s003181912300027x
United Nations. (1966). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. United Nations Treaty Series, 999, 171.
Utami Larasati, N., Munabari, F., & Sumarwan, U. (2022). Prison Overcrowding: Alternative Sentencing in Indonesia’s Draft Criminal Code and Its Consequences on Correctional System. Udayana Journal of Law and Culture, 6(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.24843/ujlc.2021.v06.i01.p03
Venturi, F. (2025). Reconstructing Criminalisation. Regulatory Crimes and the Authoritarian Foundations of Modern Substantive Criminal Law. Criminal Law and Philosophy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11572-025-09771-w
Werbner, P., & Werbner, R. (2020). Adultery Redefined: Changing Decisions of Equity in Customary Law as “Living Law” in Botswana. PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, 43(1), 136-152. https://doi.org/10.1111/plar.12344
Widyawati, A. (2020). Criminal Policy of Adultery in Indonesia. Journal of Indonesian Legal Studies, 5(1), 171-186. https://doi.org/10.15294/jils.v5i1.36786
Yuliartini, N. P. R., Hartana, H., Kbarek, L. N., & Monteiro, S. (2025). From Retribution to Restoration: Human Rights-Based Legal Protection for Women Victims of Sexual Violence. Jurnal Media Hukum, 32(2), 281-300. https://doi.org/10.18196/jmh.v32i2.26214
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ludovicus Sensi Wondabio, Muhenri Sihotang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
