Reconstruction of Criminal Procedure Law in Strengthening Victim Protection Based on Restorative Justice

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the urgency of reconstructing criminal procedural law to strengthen the protection of victims of crime through a restorative justice approach. The Criminal Procedure Code (KUHP), in effect since 1981, still relies on a retributive paradigm that positions victims solely as witnesses, often neglecting their recovery needs. The method used is normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches, supported by qualitative analysis of primary and secondary legal materials. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the provision of restorative justice in the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) is currently partial and scattered in regulations at a lower level, such as Perpol No. 8 of 2021 and PERMA No. 1 of 2024. Therefore, a normative reconstruction is needed that positions victims as active subjects with the rights to participation, restitution, and recovery, institutionalized in national criminal procedural law.