PENAL MEDIATION AS AN ALTERNATIVE RESOLUTION IN THE INDONESIAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM (A DIGNIFIED JUSTICE JURISPRUDENCE)

Restorative justice perspective in this paper sees a penal mediation as a non-penal means within the Law. This institution has been utilised as an alternative in the Indonesian Criminal Justice System to deliver dignified justice in criminal cases. Although this model appeared as vague, since stipulated only between the lines in the Indonesia Criminal Code (KUHP) and the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), the concept of restorativejustice has been existing in the Indonesian Volksgeist (the Spirit of the Indonesian, i.e. Pancasila) from the begining of time. This author would argue bellow that penal mediation has been used to mitigate penal cases by law enforcement institutions in order to achieve dignified justice in the concept of restorative justice, to serve human as human beings recognised by the Law in the Pancasila Legal System. The police may use penal mediation basing upon their discretionary power and the public prosecutors may also use their own prerogative power or the what so called prosecutors power of opportunity in place of the due process and make creative innovations, beginign from misdemeanor or complaint offenses. Even Indonesian judges have broad discretionary authority to use penal mediation in solving criminal cases so that the dignified justice, can be obtained, particularly by victims de lege lata.