Feasibility Test Of Candidates For Supreme Court Justice: Restorative Justice Is Not An Alternative, Consistent Must Be Implemented

JAKARTA - The candidate for Supreme Court justice of the Criminal Chamber, Julius Panjaitan, said restorative justice is not just an alternative punishment, but a relevant approach to realizing the purpose of punishment itself.

Julius, during the due diligence of candidates for Supreme Court justices with Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives in the parliament complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday, believes restorative justice can restore, bring in a sense of security, and resolve conflicts between litigants.

This alternative means that it is only an option, in the sense that it needs to be implemented, if not, it should not be implemented. So, in this case, restorative justice should be applied consistently," he said, confiscated by Antara.

In its application, explained Julius, the restorative justice approach will bring together the perpetrators, victims, families, and other related parties such as traditional and religious leaders. The parties will have a dialogue to achieve a fair solution.

The restorative approach is different from criminal law. According to him, the application of restorative justice is a manifestation of the culture of the Indonesian people, namely solving problems with deliberation and consensus.

If it enters the realm of the court, it will have a different path later: guilty, criminally punished. However, if restorative justice, the perpetrator [and] the victim, both feel satisfied, both win the term," said Julius.

He also explained that restorative justice cannot be misused. This approach can only be applied to minor crimes whose penalty is no more than five years and the losses incurred are no more than Rp. 2.5 million or the provincial minimum wage.

In addition, the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) stipulates that restorative justice cannot be applied to serious crimes, such as narcotics, terrorism, loss of life, as well as criminal acts concerning state security, public order, and decency.

"There are already signs," said Julius.

However, specifically for narcotics cases, Julius is of the view that abusers have the right to be granted access to a restorative justice approach. Because, according to him, abusers are victims of unscrupulous dealers.

In addition, he also suggested that restorative justice be extended to apply to hate speech cases. According to him, criticism that is considered to lead to hate speech can be discussed before proceeding to court.

In front of a member of Commission III of the DPR RI, Julius said that if he is elected as the supreme judge, he will prioritize restorative justice in cases of legal remedies that have the potential to be applied to this approach.

I will motivate Judges at the first level to prioritize the application of restorative justice. Because, once again, for me, it is very beneficial for such a punishment goal: restoring balance, bringing in a sense of security, restoring the situation, bringing in a sense of peace, and reducing the potential for revenge," he said.

It is known that Commission III of the DPR RI held a fit and proper test for 13 candidates for Supreme Court justices and three candidates for ad hoc judges for human rights at the Supreme Court who had previously been selected by the Judicial Commission.

The fit and proper test began on Tuesday 9 September, followed on Wednesday 10 September and Thursday, then continued on Tuesday (16/9). On the last day, a plenary meeting of Commission III of the DPR RI will also be held to determine the elected candidate.