Human Trafficking as Organized Crime: Criminal Law Reform, Sentencing Models, and Effective Prosecution Strategies

Abstract

Human trafficking is a form of organized crime that evolves in complex, systematic, and profit-driven ways, thereby necessitating a more adaptive criminal law approach. This study aims to analyze the shortcomings of Indonesian criminal law in combating human trafficking and to formulate reforms for sentencing models and more effective prosecution strategies. The research employs a normative legal research method utilizing statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches. Legal materials were gathered through a literature review encompassing legislation, international conventions, books, and scholarly journals and analyzed qualitatively using legal interpretation methods. The findings indicate that Indonesia's criminal law system still faces various weaknesses, including limited corporate criminal liability, suboptimal asset recovery mechanisms, weak integration of financial investigations, and prosecution strategies that remain focused on individual perpetrators. Consequently, criminal law reform is required to strengthen sentencing models by integrating asset forfeiture, corporate criminal liability, and the restoration of victims' rights, alongside reforming prosecution strategies based on "follow the organization" and "follow the money" approaches. Such reforms are expected to enhance the effectiveness of efforts to combat human trafficking, dismantle organized crime networks, and establish a criminal justice system that ensures greater justice and legal certainty while delivering tangible benefits to society.