The Application of Judicial Pardon in Criminal Law in Indonesia

Judicial Pardon is a new concept in the Indonesian criminal law system introduced in Article 54 paragraph (2) of Law Number 1 Year 2023 on the Criminal Code (KUHP). This concept authorizes judges not to impose punishment on defendants who are proven guilty by considering aspects of justice and humanity. This research aims to analyze the position of Judicial Pardon in Indonesian criminal law and its model with the modern criminal law paradigm oriented towards restorative justice. The research method used is normative juridical with statute approach, comparative approach, and conceptual approach. The results showed that Judicial Pardon is part of judicial discretion which aims as an alternative punishment for minor offenders. In addition, this concept is in line with the theory of restorative justice which emphasizes victim recovery, offender rehabilitation, and balance in the punishment system. Nevertheless, the implementation of Judicial Pardon in Indonesia still faces challenges in terms of the limits of its application and its supervision mechanism. Therefore, clearer implementing regulations are needed to ensure that the application of this concept does not conflict with the principle of legal certainty and is not abused in criminal justice practice.