Information at a Glance About Juvenile Justice – News at a glance about the Juvenile Criminal Law Court that Follows the Procedures of the Laws of the Republic of Indonesia That Everyone Should Know

Handling criminal cases against children is certainly different from handling cases against adults, the handling of children is special because it is also regulated in separate regulations. Understanding of the process of handling children’s cases, of course, there may still be some people who do not understand or understand, so that sometimes it gives rise to various assessments, even more fatal if there is a misjudgment that handling children, especially children in legal conflicts, get special treatment and there are also those who think that children cannot be punished even though it is not that far, it’s just that the handling process is specifically regulated.

It should be understood that in relation to the handling of children in conflict with the law, of course, it is based on several special statutory provisions, including the following:

Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, previously Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 3 of 1997 concerning the Juvenile Court;
Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 35 of 2014 concerning Amendments to Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection;
Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 17 of 2016 concerning Stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law Number 1 of 2016 concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection into Law;
Government Regulation Number 65 of 2015 concerning Guidelines for the Implementation of Diversion and Handling of Children Under 12 (Twelve) Years Old;
Regulation of the Supreme Court Number 4 of 2014 concerning the Implementation of Diversion in the Juvenile Criminal Justice System;
Attorney General Regulation No. 06/A/J.A/04/2015 concerning Guidelines for Implementing Diversion.

Juvenile Criminal Justice System

The juvenile criminal justice system is the entire process of resolving cases of children in conflict with the law from the investigation stage to the guidance stage after undergoing a criminal process based on protection, justice, non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, respect for the child, the survival and development of the child, proportional , deprivation of liberty and punishment as a last resort and avoidance of retaliation (vide Article 1 point 1 and Article 2 of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System.

In the juvenile criminal justice system, children are children who are in conflict with the law, children who are victims and children who are witnesses in criminal acts. Children in conflict with the law are children who are 12 years old but not yet 18 years old who are suspected of committing a crime; Children who become victims are children who are not yet 18 (eighteen years old) who have suffered physical, mental and or economic losses caused by criminal acts; A child who is a witness is a child who is not yet 18 (eighteen years old) who can provide information for the benefit of the legal process starting at the level of investigation, prosecution and trial regarding a criminal case that has been heard, seen and or experienced;

In the event that a criminal act is committed by a child before the age of 18 and is submitted to a court hearing after the child exceeds the age limit of 18 years but has not yet reached the age of 21, the child is still submitted to the juvenile court (Article 20 of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Judicial System). Child Crime).

Furthermore, in the event that a child under 12 years of age commits or is suspected of committing a criminal act, the investigator, community advisor, makes a decision to hand it over to the parent/guardian or to include him/her in educational programs, coaching at a government agency or social welfare organization in charge of the social welfare sector. (Article 21 of Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System in conjunction with Article 67 of Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 65 of 2015 concerning the Implementation of Diversion and Handling of Children Under 12 (Twelve) Years Old).

In adult cases (aged 18 years and over) each level of examination does not need to be accompanied by a parent/guardian, but in cases where a child is in conflict with the law it is necessary to be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

The parties involved in the juvenile criminal justice process are Investigators, Public Prosecutors, Judges, Community Counselors and Social Workers

Investigators are Child Investigators;
Public Prosecutor is the Child Public Prosecutor;
Judges are Child Judges;
Community Counselors are law enforcement functional officials who carry out community research, guidance, supervision, assistance to children inside and outside the criminal justice process;
Social Worker is a person who works in both government and private institutions who have the competence and profession of social work as well as concern in social work obtained through education, and or experience of social work practice to implement social problems;

The Process of Investigation and Prosecution of Child Cases

Investigations are carried out by investigators who are determined based on the decision of the head of the police or other officials appointed by the Head of the Indonesian National Police, while the prosecution is carried out by the public prosecutor who is determined based on the decision of the attorney general or other officials appointed by the attorney general. In conducting an investigation of a child’s case, the investigator is obliged to ask for considerations or suggestions from the community advisor after the criminal act is reported or reported then the Community Research Center is obliged to submit the results of the community research no later than 3 days after the investigator’s request.

In conducting an examination of a child victim, the investigator is obliged to request a social report from a social worker or social welfare worker after the crime has been reported; Furthermore, the child who is proposed as a child in conflict with the law (ABH) at the level of investigation, prosecution and examination of a child’s case in court must seek diversion.

Diversion is the transfer of the settlement of children’s cases from the criminal justice process outside the criminal justice process, and to that process with the following conditions:

Threatened with imprisonment under 7 (seven) years;
And not the repetition of a crime;
Furthermore, in addition to these provisions, it also applies to children who are accused of committing a crime punishable by imprisonment for under 7 (seven) years and also charged with a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment (seven) years or more in the form of subsidiarity, alternative, cumulative or combination charges. (combined) (Article 7 PERMA Number 4 of 2014 concerning Guidelines for Implementing Diversion in the Juvenile Criminal Justice System))

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Diversion aims:

Achieving peace between victims and children;
Resolving child cases outside the judicial process;
Protecting children from deprivation of liberty;
Encouraging communities to participate;
And instill a sense of responsibility in children;
In the Diversion process itself, of course, there are parties involved, namely children, parents, victims, and or parents/guardians, community counselors and professional social workers based on a restorative justice approach which means that the settlement of criminal cases involving perpetrators, victims and other parties concerned to jointly seek a just solution by emphasizing the restoration to its original state.

From the results of the diversion agreement: peace can be in the form of: with or compensation, handover to parents/guardians, participation in education/training in educational institutions or LPKS, community services. In the event that an agreement is reached, each official who is responsible for the implementation of the diversion will issue a termination of the investigation, termination of prosecution, termination of case examination and if it is reached, the examination process will continue. Furthermore, in the event that an agreement does not occur within the specified time, the community advisor immediately reports to the official to follow up the examination process.

Child Checkup Process

Investigators, Public Prosecutors, Community Counselors and or legal aid providers and other officers in examining cases of children, child victims and or child witnesses do not wear a toga or official attributes (Article 22 of Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System), then at every level of examination, the child must be given legal assistance and accompanied by a social advisor or assistant with applicable provisions;

That related to the detention of children (Article 32 of Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System) are as follows:

Detention of a child must not be carried out in terms of obtaining guarantees from parents or institutions that the child does not run away, destroy evidence or damage evidence or will not repeat the crime;
Detention can be carried out on the condition that:
The child’s age is 14 (fourteen) years;
Suspected of committing a crime with the threat of imprisonment for 7 years or more.
Detention of a child is certainly different from the defendant {adult} and the detention of a child in conflict with the law is as follows:

Detention by investigators is a maximum of 7 days and can be extended by the Public Prosecutor, for 8 days; while the adult defendant is 20 days with an extension of 40 days;
Detention by the public prosecutor, a maximum of 5 days can then be extended by the judge for 5 days while for adult defendants 20 days and extended for 30 days;
The Judge’s detention for 10 days was then extended for 15 days by the Head of the District Court, while the adult defendant was 30 days and could be extended for 60 days.

Examination process in court

Examination in the court session of the child in the first instance is carried out by a single judge, but the Chairman of the Court in examining the child’s case with the panel of judges in the case of

a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment of 7 years or more is difficult to prove. The judge in examining a child’s case in a children’s trial is declared closed to the public except for the reading of the verdict. Then in the trial process (Article 55 of Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System) the Judge is obliged to order parents/guardians or companions or other legal aid providers; In the event that the parents, guardians or guardians are not present, the trial will be continued accompanied by an advocate or other legal aid provider and/or community advisor.

That when examining a child of a victim or child of a witness, the judge may order that the child be taken out (Article 58 of Law RI Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System). In the event that the child of the victim or child of a witness is unable to provide information before a court session, the judge may order that the child of the victim or child of a witness be heard outside the trial through electronic recording conducted by the community advisor in the presence of the investigator or public prosecutor and advocate or legal aid provider. , through a remote examination or teleconference (Article 58 of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System).

The judge before making a decision provides an opportunity for the parent/guardian/companion to present things that are beneficial to the child, then at the time of reading the court’s decision it is carried out in a trial open to the public and may not be attended by the child.

Sentences against children in conflict with the law may be subject to criminal acts and actions, and children can only be sentenced or subject to the provisions of this Law.

Whereas children in legal conflict who are not yet 14 years old can only be subject to non-criminal actions, which include returning to parents, surrendering to someone, treatment in a mental hospital, and treatment at the Social Welfare Organization (LPKS), the obligation to attend formal education and or training held by the government or private bodies and the revocation of the driver’s license, and correction of the consequences of the crime. Meanwhile, children aged 14 years and over may be sentenced to various types of crimes as stipulated in Article 71 of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, which are as follows:

The main crime consists of a. warning penalty; b. conditional punishment (guidance in institutions, community services, supervision); c. work training; d. coaching in institutions and prisons;
Additional penalties are in the form of deprivation of profits obtained from criminal acts, fulfillment of customary obligations.
If in material law a child in conflict with the law is threatened with cumulative punishment in the form of imprisonment and a fine, the fine shall be replaced with job training for a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 1 year. The punishment for restricting freedom imposed on children is a maximum of of the maximum imprisonment that is threatened against adults (Article 79 paragraph 2 of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System), while the special minimum provisions for imprisonment do not apply to children. (Article 79 of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System).

Detention of children in legal conflict is placed at the Temporary Child Placement Institution (LPAS), while the place where the child is serving his criminal period is placed at the Child Special Guidance Institute (LPKA). Then the place where children get social services is at the Social Welfare Organizing Institution (LPKS).

Against the judge’s decision at the first level, both children in conflict with the law and the public prosecutor can certainly take further legal efforts, namely appeal, cassation and review.

Against children who are proposed as children in legal conflict, namely child victims and child witnesses are entitled to all protections and rights regulated by the provisions of laws and regulations.

Conclusion: based on the description, it is clear that the handling of children in conflict with the law is different from the handling of adults in conflict with the law, in the juvenile criminal justice system, the handling of children’s cases prioritizes restorative justice.

This is a brief overview of the handling of crimes against children in conflict with the law.