PENA LAW: International Journal of Law

PUNISHING CORRUPTION OFFENDERS AND RECOVERING STATE ASSETS

Iva Turisnur — 2026-09-23

The eradication of corruption is not solely oriented towards the criminal punishment of offenders, but also towards the recovery of state financial losses. Such recovery may be pursued through various legal instruments, including the payment of compensation equivalent to state losses, the seizure and confiscation of assets, civil proceedings in certain circumstances, the tracing of proceeds of money laundering offences, and international legal cooperation. This study examines two issues: first, the legal framework governing the recovery of state financial losses resulting from corruption offences; and second, the legal obstacles to its implementation and the prospects for strengthening the applicable legal framework. This study employs normative legal research using statutory and conceptual approaches, conducted through a literature review of relevant legal materials. The analysis indicates that the legal framework for recovering state financial losses provides several complementary instruments. However, their implementation requires clarity regarding the relationship between the various mechanisms, evidentiary accuracy, protection of third-party rights, and effective enforcement of court judgments. A comparison with the United States and South Korea indicates that both countries have more comprehensive legal frameworks for asset recovery, whereas Indonesia continues to face significant challenges, particularly in cross-border asset recovery. Asset recovery must also be assessed carefully by distinguishing between the amount of compensation ordered by the court, assets identified or seized, assets confiscated, and the value actually recovered by the state. Accordingly, optimising the recovery of state financial losses requires regulatory harmonisation, procedural clarity, stronger inter-agency coordination, and effective monitoring of the enforcement of court judgments, while safeguarding the principle of legality and the right to a fair trial.

LEGAL PROTECTION FOR WIVES IN UNREGISTERED MARRIAGES: ACCESS TO INHERITANCE RIGHTS AND JOINT PROPERTY

Asrat Nita Wati — 2026-09-02

Unregistered marriage does not automatically extinguish women's civil rights. This article examines wives' legal status, inheritance, marital property, evidence, judicial validation, and constitutional protection through normative research using statutory, conceptual, case, comparative, and gender approaches. The study finds that absence of a certificate creates recognition, evidentiary, administrative, and enforcement gaps. A wife neither automatically acquires nor loses all rights. Marriage status must be established; marital property separated before calculating the estate; and Constitutional Court Decision 46/PUU-VIII/2010 protects a child without automatically validating the mother as wife. Reform should integrate courts, registrars, civil records, and legal aid.

CIVIL LIABILITY OF BUSINESS ACTORS FOR CONSUMER LOSSES DUE TO AI CHATBOT DECISIONS IN CUSTOMER SERVICE (A STUDY ON DIGITAL BANKING AND AIRLINE SERVICES)

Ria Sintha Devi — 2026-09-23

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in customer service shifts part of the interaction between businesses and consumers from human agents to automated systems, raising the question of who bears the loss when a chatbot's statement or decision is wrong. This study analyzes the legal status of AI chatbots, the basis and forms of civil liability of business actors, and their application to digital banking and airline services in Indonesia. It employs normative juridical research using statutory, conceptual, case, and comparative approaches to primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials, analyzed qualitatively. The findings show that AI chatbots are not legal subjects, so liability rests on the business actor as the electronic system operator and service provider. The basis of liability can be built in layers through breach of contract, tort, Article 1367 of the Civil Code, the Consumer Protection Law, and the Personal Data Protection Law, with sector-specific features: prudential principles and financial-sector consumer protection dominate digital banking, while carrier liability and passenger compensation dominate aviation. Disclaimers that attribute errors to the chatbot cannot displace this liability. The study recommends duties of transparency, escalation to human agents, conversation logging, and a proportionate shift of the burden of proof.

COMMUNITY LEGAL CULTURE IN MEDIATION-BASED DISPUTE RESOLUTION: A QUALITATIVE SOCIO-LEGAL STUDY AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Muhenri Sihotang — 2026-09-15

Mediation is widely institutionalised in Indonesia, from court-annexed mediation rooms to village halls and customary institutions, yet its success varies sharply across these arenas. This article examines community legal culture as an explanation for that variation. It describes legal culture in mediation practice, analyses the factors shaping mediation success, identifies the values and local wisdom that support or hinder the process, and formulates a conceptual model. This qualitative socio-legal study combines document analysis of nine legal instruments (the 1945 Constitution, six statutes, and two Supreme Court Regulations) with a thematic synthesis of 56 Scopus-indexed studies (41 Indonesian and 15 comparative) retrieved through a structured search and analysed through reflexive thematic analysis and the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. Four themes emerge: deliberation (musyawarah) and local wisdom as cultural capital; trust in and legitimacy of the mediator as the linking mechanism; synergy among state, customary, and religious law as a source of legitimacy for settlements; and barriers including low legal awareness, power and gender asymmetries, opposing interests, and procedures that equate success with the number of settlement deeds. These themes form a Legal Culture–Mediation Model with five testable propositions. Mediation success depends more on the fit between procedural design and the parties' legal culture than on the formal obligation to mediate. Policy reform should strengthen the legitimacy of community mediators, screen cases marked by severe power imbalances, and measure success beyond the mere reaching of an agreement.

Punishment or Rehabilitation? Policy on Narcotics Addicts and Abusers in Medan: A Restorative Justice Perspective

Ramadhany Nasution — 2026-09-20

Indonesia's Narcotics Law simultaneously criminalises drug use and obliges the state to rehabilitate dependent users, leaving officials with a persistent choice between punishment and treatment. This article examines how that choice is made in Medan, North Sumatra, and whether the policy practised there can be defended from a restorative justice perspective. Using a socio-legal (normative-empirical) method, it analyses Law No. 35 of 2009, Supreme Court Circular No. 4 of 2010, the 2014 Joint Regulation of seven institutions, Police Regulation No. 8 of 2021 and Attorney General Guideline No. 18 of 2021, and combines this with institutional data for 2021–2025 on Polrestabes Medan, the provincial National Narcotics Agency, the LRPPN BI Medan clinic and Class I Prison Medan, interpreted through the components of a legal system. The share of user cases resolved through rehabilitation at Polrestabes Medan rose from 8.0% to 14.6%, and 46.3% of the additional caseload was diverted to treatment, yet 88.9% of cumulative cases were still processed through the criminal track, and 2,850 of 3,100 narcotics residents of the prison in 2025 were serving sentences. The main barriers are overlapping possession and abuse provisions, costly assessment and scarce rehabilitation capacity, a retributive culture and stigma, and unchecked discretion. The article argues that Medan's policy is better understood as rehabilitation with restorative elements than as restorative justice proper, and proposes a graduated double-track model that combines mandatory thresholds, funded assessment, community-based capacity and reintegration support.

Keywords: restorative justice in drug offenses; drug addiction rehabilitation policy; criminalization vs. rehabilitation; narcotics offenders; Medan legal policy

SINKRONISASI HAK KOMPENSASI KORBAN KEKERASAN SEKSUAL MELALUI DANA BANTUAN KORBAN PASCA BERLAKUNYA UNDANG-UNDANG NOMOR 3 TAHUN 2026

Muhammad Ansori Lubis — 2026-09-20

Undang-Undang Nomor 3 Tahun 2026 tentang Pelindungan Saksi dan Korban (UU PSdK) menggantikan rezim UU Nomor 13 Tahun 2006 jo. UU Nomor 31 Tahun 2014 dan memperkenalkan Dana Abadi Korban, sementara kompensasi bagi korban kekerasan seksual telah lebih dahulu diatur dalam UU Nomor 12 Tahun 2022 (UU TPKS) dan Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 29 Tahun 2025 melalui Dana Bantuan Korban (DBK). Artikel ini bertujuan menganalisis konstruksi hak kompensasi korban kekerasan seksual melalui DBK, mengidentifikasi tingkat sinkronisasi antarnorma pasca berlakunya UU PSdK, dan merumuskan model sinkronisasi yang diperlukan. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian hukum normatif dengan pendekatan perundang-undangan, konseptual, dan perbandingan terbatas, yang dianalisis secara kualitatif-preskriptif menggunakan teori sistem hukum Friedman dan tiga nilai dasar hukum (keadilan, kepastian, kemanfaatan). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa UU PSdK telah menyediakan titik temu normatif melalui Pasal 13 ayat (7), Pasal 23 ayat (2) dan ayat (6), serta Pasal 28 ayat (1) huruf m, tetapi masih menyisakan lima ketidaksinkronan: dualisme nomenklatur dan tata kelola dana (DBK dan Dana Abadi Korban); perbedaan jalur pemberitahuan ketidakmampuan terpidana; ketiadaan parameter ketidakmampuan; ketegangan antara pidana penjara pengganti dan kompensasi negara; serta belum terbitnya peraturan pelaksana. Artikel ini merekomendasikan peraturan pemerintah pelaksana UU PSdK yang memuat norma penghubung DBK–Dana Abadi Korban, kriteria ketidakmampuan yang terukur, jalur pemberitahuan tunggal, mekanisme pemulihan klaim negara terhadap pelaku, serta penyelarasan Peraturan LPSK Nomor 3 Tahun 2026.