An Analysis of Criminal Sentencing for Juvenile Narcotics Offenders

A Review of the Juvenile Criminal Justice System Law

Abstract

Narcotics abuse involving children constitutes a complex legal issue as children are not only positioned as perpetrators of criminal acts but also as individuals requiring protection and rehabilitation. This condition creates challenges in law enforcement, particularly in balancing the interests of criminal justice with the principles of child protection as regulated under Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System and Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics. This study aims to analyze the legal framework governing children in conflict with the law as perpetrators of narcotics abuse within the Indonesian legal system and to examine the application of criminal sanctions against children based on Decision Number 5/Pid.Sus-Anak/2021/PN Plp. The research employs a normative juridical method using statutory, conceptual, and case approaches through library research on primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. The findings indicate that the Indonesian legal system fundamentally prioritizes protection, rehabilitation, diversion, and restorative justice in handling child narcotics offenders. Nevertheless, in Decision Number 5/Pid.Sus-Anak/2021/PN Plp, the court imposed a ten-month imprisonment sentence in a Special Child Development Institution after concluding that the elements of the criminal offense had been legally and convincingly proven. The decision reflects an attempt to balance child protection objectives with criminal accountability, although rehabilitative measures were not optimally prioritized. This study concludes that the implementation of the best interests of the child principle in narcotics abuse cases continues to face challenges, including the predominance of punitive approaches, the suboptimal implementation of diversion mechanisms, and limitations in rehabilitation and child development facilities for children in conflict with the law.