Source: Untar Public Relations – CS
The restorative justice approach has become one of the key principles of Indonesia’s Juvenile Criminal Justice System (Sistem Peradilan Pidana Anak – SPPA). However, its implementation continues to face various challenges, particularly in handling children involved in serious criminal offenses.
This issue formed the basis of Made Sinthia Sukmayanti’s dissertation titled “A Model of the Juvenile Criminal Justice System for Child Offenders of Serious Crimes Based on the Values of Justice in Indonesia,” which was defended during the open examination of the Doctoral Program in Law at Untar on Wednesday (24/06/2026) at Campus I of Untar.
Using a normative legal research method with statutory, case, and conceptual approaches, the doctoral candidate found that the implementation of the Juvenile Criminal Justice System still faces obstacles in ensuring the optimal protection of children’s rights.
The research focused on the application of children’s rights principles within the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, the implementation of justice values for children involved in serious crimes, and the formulation of a judicial model that is more aligned with the values of justice in Indonesia.
Law enforcement practices that continue to be dominated by a retributive approach were found to contribute to the stigma and negative labeling experienced by children in conflict with the law. This condition indicates that the principle of the best interests of the child has not yet been fully implemented substantively.
Based on these findings, the doctoral candidate proposed a Collaborative Restorative Model involving various stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, government institutions, families, communities, and the media, to support the comprehensive recovery and social reintegration of children.
Furthermore, she emphasized that the concept of justice within the Juvenile Criminal Justice System should be built upon the values of Pancasila, which prioritize respect for human dignity, deliberation, unity, and the spirit of kinship.
Dr. Made, who currently serves as a lecturer and legal scholar at Universitas Pendidikan Nasional (Undiknas), officially became the 71st graduate of the Doctoral Program in Law at Untar, earning a perfect Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.00 and graduating with cum laude honors. (CS/YS)