Victim Protection: A Critical Examination of Indonesian Criminal Procedure Reform
Victim protection in Indonesia's legal system faces structural challenges rooted in the historical formation of its national legal framework. The Indonesian criminal justice system was established in a political landscape dominated by authoritarianism, where Act No. 8 of 1981 on Criminal Procedure (KUHAP) emerged as a product of state-centric logic prioritizing stability and social order over the protection of individual rights. Under this paradigm, KUHAP reflects a police-oriented model that places state security above justice for victims, thereby marginalizing victims both procedurally and in terms of rights recognition.
This article analyzes the issue through the framing victim protection as a key element in restoring legal legitimacy in a post-authoritarian context. Using a socio-legal, the study investigates the extent to which the constitutions and national regulations of both countries affirm victims' rights and how national criminal law aligns with international human rights norms. The enactment of the 2023 Indonesian Penal Code (KUHP) marks a pivotal opportunity for a paradigm shift, particularly with incorporating restorative justice principles that reflect a state-level acknowledgment of the need to shift from punitive approaches to victim rehabilitation and social reintegration.
Accordingly, this article argues that the forthcoming reform of KUHAP must support and reinforce this restorative orientation as part of a broader repositioning of Indonesian criminal law towards a more humanistic and democratic framework. Drawing upon the theory of semi-authoritarian constitutionalism and critiques of repressive legalism, this article contends that criminal procedure reform should be understood as part of a larger project of post-authoritarian legal reconstruction. Within this framework, justice for victims is not merely a normative goal or political rhetoric, but a critical foundation for rebuilding public trust in law and democratic institutions.
Keywords: victim protection; Indonesia; criminal procedure; reform