MODEL FOR ADDRESSING NARCOTICS OFFENSES USING A RESTORATIVE JUSTICE APPROACH THROUGH REHABILITATION
Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics incorporates a dual approach, combining a repressive strategy with severe sanctions, including the death penalty, and a rehabilitative approach for addicts. In practice, however, this has led to overcapacity in correctional facilities, a burdened judicial system, and weak offender rehabilitation. Recently, the discourse on restorative justice has emerged, although it has the potential to conflict with existing legal norms and societal moral values. This paper examines a model for addressing narcotics offenses through a restorative justice approach. This research is normative legal research. The approaches used include the statutory approach, conceptual approach, case approach, and sociological approach. The theoretical framework employed as an analytical tool encompasses sentencing theory, legislative theory, and development law theory. The findings indicate that a model for resolving narcotics offenses using a restorative justice approach through rehabilitation positions the drug user as a victim in need of recovery, rather than merely a criminal. The Attorney General’s Guidelines No. 18 of 2021 have opened a space for rehabilitation; however, its authority remains weak as it is only internal. Therefore, the substance of these guidelines should be elevated into a Restorative Justice Law, thereby granting it national binding power, ensuring legal certainty, and promoting consistency in implementation
Narcotics, Rehabilitation, Restorative Justice