Harmonization of Pancasila Values in the Objectives of Punishment Under the National Criminal Code

Abstract

The enactment of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code marks a pivotal moment in Indonesia’s effort to reform and decolonize its national penal system. Among its most significant departures from prior codifications beyond the elimination of the misdemeanor category is the removal of capital punishment as a primary sanction. This measure reflects a longstanding view that the death penalty is incompatible with Indonesian cultural values and, by extension, inconsistent with Pancasila as the supreme source of national law. This study investigates Pancasila’s function as the philosophical cornerstone in structuring the criminal justice system and defining the purposes of punishment within the National Criminal Code. Employing normative legal research through statutory and conceptual approaches, the findings reveal that the open character of Pancasila ideology accommodates an explicit legislative articulation of penal objectives embracing retributive, corrective, rehabilitative, and restorative orientations simultaneously. Article 51 of the new Criminal Code further demonstrates substantive congruence with Pancasila’s five principles: (1) the preventive objective embodies the Second Principle on just and civilized humanity; (2) the social reintegration of convicts is anchored in the Fifth Principle of social justice; (3) conflict resolution reflects the Third and Fourth Principles on national unity and deliberative democracy; and (4) cultivating genuine remorse in offenders expresses the First Principle of belief in the One Almighty God. Taken together, the national criminal law reform has successfully elevated Pancasila from an abstract foundational norm into a functioning normative guide for the conduct of criminal justice.