Decolonizing Legal Norms: An Examination of Colonial-Era Criminal Codes in Modern Indonesian Jurisprudence
Article Sidebar
-
Colonial Criminal, Indonesian Jurisprudence, Legal Deccolonization
Abstract
Background. Indonesian criminal law continues to reflect colonial legacies inherited from the Dutch Wetboek van Strafrecht. Despite constitutional independence and ongoing legislative reforms, many colonial-era criminal provisions remain operative and influential within contemporary judicial reasoning, raising critical questions about the depth of legal decolonization in modern Indonesian jurisprudence.
Purpose. This study aims to examine how colonial-era criminal codes persist and function within modern Indonesian jurisprudence, with particular emphasis on judicial interpretation, doctrinal practices, and the epistemic continuity of colonial legal norms in criminal adjudication.
Method. A qualitative doctrinal and socio-legal research design is employed. The study analyzes statutory criminal law provisions, selected judicial decisions, and relevant legal scholarship using a postcolonial legal theory framework to identify patterns of colonial normative persistence and interpretive reasoning.
Results. The findings reveal that a substantial number of criminal law provisions applied in Indonesian courts originate from colonial legal frameworks and are interpreted through formalistic reasoning that prioritizes state authority and public order. Judicial practice demonstrates limited engagement with socio-historical context judicial decisions, and relevant legal
Conclusion. The study concludes that legal decolonization in Indonesia remains largely symbolic at the textual level and has not fully transformed jurisprudential practice.
Full text article
References
Aamir Ali, S. M. A., & Mukhopadhyay, P. (2024). Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita: Decolonizing Criminal Law or Colonial Continuities? International Annals of Criminology, 62(2), 406–425. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1017/cri.2024.20
Aburabia, R. (2024). Colonial legislations, intrinsic paradoxes: The criminal prohibition against bigamy and the exemption of Muslims in mandatory Palestine. Settler Colonial Studies, 14(2), 225–247. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/2201473X.2023.2287374
Akande, R. (2025). Debating Diya: Indirect Rule and the Transformation of Islamic Law in British Colonial Northern Nigeria. Die Welt Des Islams, 65(2–3), 161–190. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700607-20240013
Alam, M. M. (2025). From colonial labels to contemporary stigmas: An epistemological understanding of the Nat community in India. Asian Anthropology, 24(3), 182–200. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/1683478X.2025.2518031
Anthony, T., & Stanl, C. (2024). Carceral logics of colonialism. Dalam Handb. Of Crit. Whiteness: Deconstructing Domin. Discourses Across Discipl. (Vol. 1, hlm. 383–397). Springer Nature; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5085-6_15
Ballas, I., & Moran, A. (2025). General Will or Public Order? The Debate on Criminal Justice Policy in Early Colonial Himalaya, 1815-1816. Law and History Review. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0738248025000069
Bernat Molina, I. (2025). Ecocide in Peru: Repsol and the colonial regime of permission. Environmental Politics. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2025.2501402
Davanna, T., Miller, E., Ojimba-Baldwin, P., & Shepherd, B. (2025). Decolonising Criminology: A Toolkit for Inclusion. Dalam Decolonising Criminology: A Toolkit for Inclusion (hlm. 151). Springer Nature; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-75562-0
de Hemptinne, J. (2025). Historic Ruling. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 23(2), 217–226. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqaf009
de Rezende, M. R., & Filho, E. V. S. (2025). COLONIAL BRAZIL AND THE FORMATION OF THE PREFERENTIAL CLIENTELE OF THE BRAZILIAN PENAL SYSTEM. Revista do CAAP, 30(2). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.69881/bg8phf14
Faisal, F., Yanto, A., Rahayu, D. P., Haryadi, D., Darmawan, A., & Manik, J. D. N. (2024). Genuine paradigm of criminal justice: Rethinking penal reform within Indonesia New Criminal Code. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2301634
Hynd, S., Gendry, T., & Abboud, M. B. (2024). Colonial Criminal Law. Dalam Elgar Encyclopedia of Crime and Criminal Justice: Volume 1-4 (Vol. 1, hlm. V1-V1-336). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789902990.colonial.criminal.law
Kannabiran, K. (2024). Denotified communities. Dalam The Oxf. Handb. Of Caste (hlm. 554–568). Oxford University Press; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198896715.013.38
Katz, E. D. (2024). FOSTERING FAITH: RELIGION AND INEQUALITY IN THE HISTORY OF CHILD WELFARE PLACEMENTS. Fordham Law Review, 92(5), 2077–2149. Scopus.
Kumar, A., Sharma, A., Dhanka, S., Bist, Y., Maini, S., & Bhatnagar, P. (2025). Data privacy, ethics, and the role of AI in customer relationship management. Dalam Demystifying Emot. AI, Robotics AI, and Sentiment Analysis in Cust. Relatsh. Management (hlm. 283–317). IGI Global; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3373-1867-7.ch013
Kamilovska, T. Z., & Rako?evi?, M. (2025). Mandatory Initial Mediation Session: Evaluating the Effects of Compulsion in Dispute Resolution The Case of North Macedonia. Dalam Eur. Union. Neighb. Glob. World. (Vol. 20, hlm. 193–207). Springer Nature; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-76345-8_12
Kaya, S., Kervank?ran, E., & Ak?nc?, M. F. (2024). Resolution of IP disputes in Turkey: Emerging trends of mandatory mediation and specialized courts for IP disputes. Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice, 19(12), 874–883. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpae084
Kessedjian, C., Van Aaken, A., Lie, R., Mistelis, L., & Reis, J. M. (2023). Mediation in Future Investor-State Dispute Settlement. Journal of International Dispute Settlement, 14(2), 192–212. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnlids/idac015
Kokoeva, L. T., Garunova, N. N., Gurkina, D. A., Slepenok, Y. N., & Stepanova, L. P. (2022). Mediation as a Way to Resolve Conflicts. Dalam Adv. Sci. Tech. Inno. (hlm. 877–881). Springer Nature; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90324-4_143
Kolenko, E., Dostqoriev, M., & Azizov, N. (2024). Understanding the Legal Culture in Uzbekistan Through an Analysis of Business Disputes in Economic Courts. Dalam Int. Poliit. Econ. Ser.: Vol. Part F3202 (hlm. 173–196). Palgrave Macmillan; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55341-7_7
Konova, F., & Abdullin, A. (2024). Mediation as an effective way to settle economic disputes: Current experience and prospects for development. Revista Brasileira de Alternative Dispute Resolution, 6(11), 141–150. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.52028/rbadr.v6.i11.ART08.RU
Kriswandani, A. R., Herry, B., Rijadi, P., & Efendi, J. (2022). Integration in Copyright Regulation Enforcement A Study from Indonesia. BiLD Law Journal, 7(1), 278–287. Scopus.
Kolsky, E., & Zia, A. (2025). Gendered Legacies of Empire: Law and Feminicide in Postcolonial Pakistan. Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, 26(2), 1–20. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1353/cch.2025.a968703
Magaloni, B. (2024). Challenges in creating humane and equitable policing: A focus on the Global South. Criminology and Public Policy, 23(1), 3–25. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12661
Nortje, W. (2024). Decolonising the South African Criminal Procedure: Towards a Critical Approach to the Use of uBuntu in Sentencing W NORTJE PER / PELJ 2024(27). Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 27, 1–35. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2024/v27i0a17751
Palumbo, A. (2025). Bound to a mast: Matelotage and the queer contract in Shakespeare’s maritime plays. Law and Humanities, 19(2), 340–360. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/17521483.2025.2467551
Rojas-Páez, G., & South, N. (2024). Historical Harm and the Modern/Colonial Criminalisation of Protest: Narratives of Enmity Towards Indigenous Communities in Latin America. Dalam Crit. Criminol. Perspect.: Vol. Part F4004 (hlm. 231–255). Palgrave Macmillan; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-75376-3_11
Simanjuntak, J. E., Panggabean, M. L., Pieris, J., & Widiarty, W. S. (2025). Customary Law and Multiple Legal Systems in Criminal Justice: Indonesia’s Penal Reform Experience. Architecture Image Studies, 6(3), 1864–1880. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.62754/ais.v6i3.528
Singh Kelsall, T., Veark, J., & Beatrice, M. (2025). Criminalizing public space through a decriminalization framework: The paradox of British Columbia, Canada. International Journal of Drug Policy, 136. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104688
Sudarman, S., & Putra, J. S. (2025). Further Thoughts on Undang-Undang Laut Melaka: A Malay Mirror of the Archipelagic Homeland and Maritime Culture. Journal of Al-Tamaddun, 20(1), 297–319. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.22452/JAT.vol20no1.21
Swehli, M., Rivas, C., & Stokes, G. (2025). Beneath skin-deep? Why colour-blind policies perpetuate racial stratification for justice-involved women. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2025.2524600
Tapia Tapia, S. (2025). Human Rights Penality and Violence Against Women: The Coloniality of Disembodied Justice. Law and Critique, 36(1), 41–65. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10978-023-09355-4
Viswanath, R., & Wiseman, J. (2024). Eat the Rich: A Rethinking of the Heritage-Crime-Development Nexus. Dalam Law. Vis. Jurisprud. (Vol. 12, hlm. 371–390). Springer Nature; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47347-0_24
Zichi, P. (2025). Feminist Governance and International Law: A Critical Legal History from Mandate Palestine. Dalam Feminist Gov. And International Law: A Critical Legal History from Mandate Palestine (hlm. 253). Taylor and Francis; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003437536
