Restoring Community Service as a Criminal Sanction in the National Criminal Code: A Juridical Analysis of an Instrument for Sentencing System Reform

Abstract

Indonesia’s criminal law reform through Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code places community service as a principal punishment in the national sentencing system. Its inclusion reflects a shift from the dominance of imprisonment toward sentencing diversification, individualization, social reintegration, and respect for human dignity. This research aims to analyze the regulation of community service as an instrument of sentencing-system reform and to examine its urgency and implications for Indonesian criminal law reform. This normative legal research employs statutory, conceptual, and analytical approaches. Legal materials are analyzed qualitatively and normatively. The findings show that community service is established as a principal punishment and specifically regulated by Article 85 of Law Number 1 of 2023. Its imposition is limited by the statutory threat of imprisonment and by the sentence imposed by the judge, while requiring consideration of the defendant’s individual circumstances. The provision also regulates duration, prohibits commercialization, assigns supervision to prosecutors, and provides guidance by community counselors. Community service is urgent as an alternative to short-term imprisonment, a means of individualizing punishment, and an instrument supporting social reintegration. Its implications extend to judges, prosecutors, community counselors, and the social environment in which the sentence is carried out. Community service therefore constitutes an important instrument of Indonesian sentencing-system reform, although its effectiveness depends on normative certainty and implementation capacity.