CONTEXTUALIZING RESTORATIVE JUSTICE THROUGH DIVERSION MECHANISM: A STUDY OF INDONESIA’S JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Abstract

Implementation of restorative justice in the youth the criminal justice system in many countries has undergone its dynamics in the past few decades, including in Indonesia. The enactment of Indonesian Youth Criminal Justice System Law in mid-2014, which invalidates the 1997 Youth Court Law, became a significant point of youth criminal justice reformation in Indonesia. The new Law began to shift the retributive paradigm in the Youth Court Law, as the previous statutory basis for youth criminal justice in Indonesia, to restorative justice paradigm. The new Law introduces the Diversion mechanism as a means to implement the restorative justice approach. This article seeks to discuss how restorative justice can be contextualized through diversion mechanism, as well as to consider whether the new Indonesian youth criminal justice system utilises restorative justice in a marginalized, boutique, or tokenistic way. Furthermore, this article uses statutory and theoretical approaches to examine the contextualization of restorative justice through the diversion mechanism introduced in the new Youth Criminal Justice System Law.