Reconstruction of Legal Protection Policy for Children in Vulnerable Conditions Based on the Child Protection Law Grounded in the Best Interests of the Child

Abstract

This study aims to analyze and reconstruct the legal protection policy for children in vulnerable conditions based on Law Number 35 of 2014 amending Law Number 23 of 2002 on Child Protection, by placing the principle of the best interests of the child as the guiding principle. The research employs a normative juridical approach using primary legal materials in the form of legislation and secondary materials in the form of legal literature, analyzed prescriptively and qualitatively. The findings show that the existing normative framework still relies on reactive and sectoral protection, and therefore has not optimally reached children in vulnerable conditions, such as child victims of violence, child victims of trafficking, and children exposed to risks in cyberspace. The proposed policy reconstruction emphasizes integrating the best interests of the child into all stages of lawmaking and law enforcement, strengthening state responsibility as a consequence of the welfare state, and adopting a progressive law approach that treats the child as a subject rather than a mere object of protection. The study concludes that cross-sectoral regulatory harmonization and anticipatory protection mechanisms are needed to fulfill children’s constitutional rights.