THE URGENCY OF CLEMENCY AS PART OF THE DEFENDANT’S DEFENSE IN COURT PROCEEDINGS
Keywords:
Clemency, Defendant’s Defense, Due Process of Law, Substantive Justice, Sentencing.Abstract
Clemency is a form of non-juridical defense submitted by a defendant by emphasizing humanitarian, moral, and social aspects, which aims for the judge to consider the defendant’s concrete condition in determining the sentence, rather than to refute the elements of the criminal offense charged. In Indonesian criminal court practice, clemency is generally submitted at the final stage of trial, either as part of a plea (pledoi) or as a separate request, based on reasons such as health condition, age, family dependents, socio-economic background, as well as the defendant’s cooperative attitude and remorse. Although not explicitly regulated in the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), clemency is factually recognized and considered by judges as a mitigating circumstance, so it can be viewed as a living legal institution within the criminal justice system. The implicit normative basis of clemency is reflected in Article 197 paragraph (1) letter f of KUHAP, which requires judges to include mitigating and aggravating circumstances of the defendant in the judgment. The urgency of clemency is also related to the principle of due process of law and constitutional guarantees of the right to defense as regulated in Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, and it plays an important role in realizing substantive justice in sentencing. However, because it does not yet have clear assessment standards, the application of clemency still depends on judicial discretion and has the potential to cause sentencing disparity.
Downloads
References
Aripin, R., & Putri, R. T. (2024). Perlindungan Hak Terdakwa dalam Proses Hukum ditinjau dari prinsip Hukum" In Dubio Pro Reo". Jurnal Kajian Hukum Dan Kebijakan Publik| E-ISSN: 3031-8882, 2(1), 51-55.
De~ramayati~, T. Y., & Wi~caksana, S. U. (2021). Pe~radi~lan I~n Abse~nti~a Dalam Ti~ndak Pi~dana Korupsi~ dan Hak Pe~mbe~laan Te~rdakwa dalam Pe~rspe~kti~f HAM. Jurnal Komuni~kasi~ Hukum, 7(2), 570-591.
I~ndah, C. M. (2014). Konstruksi~ Pe~rti~mbangan Haki~m Dalam Pe~ne~rapan Pri~nsi~p I~ndi~vi~duali~sasi~ Pi~dana De~mi~ Me~wujudkan Pe~rli~ndungan Anak. Jurnal Masalah-Masalah Hukum (MMH), 43(2), 188-196.
Jui~ta, S. R., Si~hotang, A. P., & Supri~yadi~, S. (2020). Pe~ne~rapan Pri~nsi~p I~ndi~vi~duali~sasi~ Pi~dana Dalam Pe~rkara Ti~ndak Pi~dana Pe~rpajakan. Jurnal I~us Consti~tue~ndum, 5(2), 271-285.
Mahnida, R. Eksistensi peradilan in absentia dalam sistem hukum acara pidana di Indonesia dan relevansinya dengan hak terdakwa untuk melakukan pembelaan.
Nani~s, V. (2022). Pe~nti~ngnya Pe~mbe~laan Advokat Dalam Pe~rkara Pi~dana Te~rhadap Be~rat Ri~ngannya Hukuman Dalam Putusan Haki~m Bagi~ Kli~e~nnya Pada Pe~ngadi~lan Ne~ge~ri~ Ke~las 1 A Kupang. De~wantara: Jurnal Pe~ndi~di~kan Sosi~al Humani~ora, 1(4), 46-57.
Nani~s, V., Ardyan, Susmi~ta, & Putri~, R. T. (2024). Pe~rli~ndungan Hak Te~rdakwa dalam Prose~s Hukum di~ti~njau dari~ pri~nsi~p Hukum "I~n Dubi~o Pro Re~o". Jurnal Kaji~an Hukum Dan Ke~bi~jakan Publi~k, 2(1), 51-55.
RAHMAWATI, Z. P. TINJAUAN YURIDIS KONSEP KLEMENSI SEBAGAI UPAYA UNTUK MELAKUKAN PERMOHONAN KERINGANAN HUKUMAN OLEH.
Runtunuwu, Y. B. (2023). PENUNTUTAN DALAM HUKUM ACARA PIDANA. PENGANTAR HUKUM ACARA PIDANA INDONESIA, 36.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Akbar Putra Pradana (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
