Criminal Responsibility for Perpetrators of Criminal Acts of Assault According to the National Criminal Code from the Perspective of Pancasila Justice

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the regulation of criminal liability for perpetrators of assault under the Old Criminal Code and the National Criminal Code, as well as to examine its application from the perspective of Pancasila Justice. The focus of the study is directed at the provisions of Article 351 of the Old Criminal Code and Article 466 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the National Criminal Code, highlighting aspects of normative reform, elements of criminal liability, and their relevance to victim protection, particularly women as a vulnerable group. This research employs a normative legal research method using statutory, conceptual, and philosophical approaches. The data sources consist of primary legal materials in the form of legislation, secondary legal materials such as books and scientific journals, and tertiary legal materials as supporting sources. Data collection techniques are carried out through library research and document study, supported by empirical data obtained from interviews with investigators and advocates. Data analysis is conducted using qualitative normative analysis with systematic, logical, and argumentative legal reasoning. The results show that the regulation of criminal liability in the National Criminal Code maintains the fundamental elements of the Old Criminal Code, while also introducing improvements through simplification of norms, strengthening of legal systematics, and expansion of the concept of assault to include health impairment beyond physical injury. The application of criminal liability in practice still faces challenges in terms of evidentiary issues and differences in interpretation, and remains dominated by a retributive paradigm. The perspective of Pancasila Justice requires a shift toward a more humanistic and restorative approach that emphasizes victim recovery, offender rehabilitation, and social balance. The implementation of this approach has not yet been optimal, particularly in providing effective protection for women as victims of assault.