Compensation and restitution for victims of crime in indonesia: Regulatory flaws, judicial response, and proposed solution

Abstract

The study aims at examining the limitations of the Indonesian legislation concerning the compensation and restitution for the victims of crime by reviewing court cases and the implementation of the laws. By employing the doctrinal legal research, this study identifies that the victims’ rights to compensation and restitution in various legislations are contingent upon the perpetrator’s conviction, excluding the victims of crime from obtaining their rights. In court decisions, the perpetrator’s resuscitation is frequently accompanied with a sentence of criminal detention for a short period of time. Victims have a tough time obtaining restitution since the perpetrator prefers to serve time in prison rather than to pay compensation to the victim. Therefore, to provide victim protection and assistance, it is necessary to comprehensively understand the distinguished natures between compensation and restitution that have direct impact on the promulgation of the laws and the imposition of such victim rights by the courts.