Customary Council Decisions as Grounds for the Elimination of Prosecution: Notes on the Criminal Procedure Code

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15294/ijcls.v11i1.31803

Keywords:

Elimination of Prosecution, Customary Criminal Law, Living Law, Customary Justice, Criminal Procedure Reform

Abstract

This article examines whether decisions issued by customary councils should constitute a legal ground for the elimination of prosecution under Indonesia’s Law No. 20 of 2025 on the Criminal Procedure Code. Following the enactment of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the National Criminal Code, customary criminal law has been formally recognized as part of Indonesian living law. However, the Criminal Procedure Code does not provide procedural provisions governing the relationship between customary justice mechanisms and the state criminal justice system. Using normative legal research with statutory and case approaches, this study analyzes Supreme Court jurisprudence recognizing customary decisions as a valid basis for eliminating prosecution. The findings indicate that the lack of procedural recognition creates legal uncertainty and undermines the principle of legal pluralism. Therefore, this article proposes the inclusion of a specific provision in the Criminal Procedure Code that recognizes customary council decisions as a ground for eliminating prosecution when the offender has complied with the imposed customary sanction.

Author Biographies

  • Aris Hardinanto, Faculty of Law, Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura

    He is a senior Assistant Professor of criminal law at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura. He was born in Bandung and currently resides in Malang, East Java. He obtained his undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Law) with a concentration in criminal law from the Faculty of Law, Universitas Brawijaya (2007–2011), Master of Law in the Criminal Justice System program at Universitas Diponegoro (2011–2013), and subsequently completed his Doctor of Law at Universitas Diponegoro (2022–2025). He completed all levels of his higher education from undergraduate to doctoral studies with the distinction of cum laude.  His teaching portfolio includes criminal law, criminal procedure law and practice, comparative criminal law, criminal law policy, and telematics law with a specialization in cybercrime. He is also a member of the central board of the professional organization for criminal law and criminology lecturers, Asosiasi Pengajar Hukum Pidana dan Kriminologi (ASPERHUPIKI) and the only member with a criminal law background in the philological professional organization, Masyarakat Pernaskahan Nusantara (MANASSA). For inquiries regarding further publications, please refer to Scopus ID 59472099400, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5279-0073 and Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FNIiuYAAAAAJ&hl=id.

  • Zico Junius Fernando, Faculty of Law, Universitas Bengkulu

    He is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Bengkulu. He is a founding member of the Association of Criminal Law and Criminology Lecturers (ASPERHUPIKI), Chair of the MAHUPIKI Regional Board for Bengkulu Province, and Head of Public Relations at the Indonesian Association of Victimology Lecturers (APVI). He is a certified Senior Anti-Corruption Educator (LSP KPK RI) and actively involved in various legal academic associations. He has extensive professional experience as a lawyer, including roles at R & A Law Firm, LBH Bumi Rafflesia, LBH Swarna Bhumi, and Wicaksono & Co Advocates. He is also a founding partner of Iskandar Fernando & Fellas Law Office and currently serves as legal advisor and partner at several law firms. He is a recipient of the Indonesian Education Scholarship (LPDP) and currently chairs the Supervisory Board of Cendekiawan Nusantara. He can be reached at [email protected]. His publications can be accessed via: Scopus ID: 57813059100, SINTA ID: 6723786, and ORCID: 0000-0001-7285-2147.

  • Nahdiya Sabrina, Faculty of Law, Universitas Merdeka Malang

    She is an Assistant Professor in criminal law at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Merdeka Malang. She earned her Bachelor of Law degree with a specialization in criminal law from Universitas Brawijaya. Following her undergraduate studies, she pursued a Master of Law at the Postgraduate Program of Universitas Airlangga. She subsequently completed her Doctor of Laws at Universitas Brawijaya, with a dissertation focusing on criminal law in the context of child protection. Concurrently with her doctoral studies, she also obtained a Master of Notarial Law from Universitas Islam Malang.

  • Eka Nugraha Putra, Centre for Trusted Internet and Community National University of Singapore

    He is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Trusted Internet and Community (CTIC) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He works on how regulations and policies influence the supply and demand of digital information in a research project entitled “The Digital Information Resilience: Restoring Trust and Nudging Behaviours in Digitalisation Programme”, funded by the Ministry of Education, Singapore. He holds a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) from Indiana University – Maurer School of Law, the United States, where he wrote a dissertation on criminal defamation and freedom of speech in the internet age. He is the author of the book “Free Speech in Indonesia: Legal Issues and Public Interest Litigation” (Routledge). Before joining CTIC-NUS, He was an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School, India, and a law lecturer at the University of Merdeka Malang, Indonesia. He was also selected as an International Research Fellow at the Information Society Law Centre at the University of Milan, Italy, for 2022-2023. He received a Fulbright Scholarship (2018) and AIFIS – Luce Fellowship (2019-2020) for his research entitled “Criminal Defamation and Free Expression in the Digital Age.”

  • Benny Sumardiana, Faculty of Law, Universitas Negeri Semarang

    He is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia, where he currently serves as Head of the Criminal Law Department. In addition to his academic roles, he previously served as Head of the Public Relations Unit at the same faculty (2023–2025). He is actively engaged in research and educational activities in Semarang City and the surrounding areas of Central Java Province. His research interests include criminal law, criminal procedure law, legal aid, and other critical issues.

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Published

2026-05-04

Article ID

31803

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2026): Indonesia J. Crim. L. Studies (May, 2026)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Aris Hardinanto, Zico Junius Fernando, Nahdiya Sabrina, Eka Nugraha Putra, Benny Sumardiana (Author)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Aris Hardinanto, Zico Junius Fernando, Nahdiya Sabrina, Eka Nugraha Putra, and Benny Sumardiana. 2026. “Customary Council Decisions As Grounds for the Elimination of Prosecution: Notes on the Criminal Procedure Code”. IJCLS (Indonesian Journal of Criminal Law Studies) 11 (1): 1-42. https://doi.org/10.15294/ijcls.v11i1.31803.