CUSTOMARY ADJUDICATION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE UNDER ARTICLE 2 OF INDONESIA'S NEW PENAL CODE: EVIDENCE FROM KAYAN HULU
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Customary, Criminal Law, Domestic Violence, Legal Pluralism, Living Law, Restorative Justice
Abstract
Article 2 of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Indonesian Criminal Code restores living law as a source of criminal liability, while leaving the criteria, procedures, and scope of recognition to an implementing government regulation that has not yet been enacted. This study examines customary settlement of domestic violence cases in Kayan Hulu Sub-district, Malinau Regency, North Kalimantan, and its constraints within the national legal framework. Using normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches, it draws on the 1945 Constitution, Law No. 1 of 2023, Law No. 23 of 2004, Law No. 12 of 2022, and Law No. 7 of 2012, supplemented by interviews with customary officials conducted from August 2025 to January 2026. The findings show that the customary forum, led by the Ngau together with the Head of Custom and Lit Adat Ngau, resolves cases through six deliberative stages culminating in tunggu and restorative rituals. It handles minor psychological violence and household neglect but excludes serious physical and sexual violence. Five constraints were identified: authority deficits, jurisdictional dualism, weak deterrence, absence of written procedure, and inadequate victim protection. Turkish law, while excluding custom as a source of criminal liability, retains state-supervised restorative mechanisms through mediation and protective measures. The comparison identifies two key safeguards: offence-category-based jurisdictional thresholds and victim-consent review outside the deliberative forum. The article proposes a four-layer normative architecture for the implementing regulation of Article 2 centred on victim protection.
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Legislation and Other Legal Instruments
Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia of 1945 (as amended).
Law No. 23 of 2004 on the Elimination of Domestic Violence (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia of 2004 No. 95).
Law No. 12 of 2011 on the Formation of Legislation (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia of 2011 No. 82).
Law No. 7 of 2012 on the Handling of Social Conflict (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia of 2012 No. 116).
Law No. 6 of 2014 on Villages (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia of 2014 No. 7).
Law No. 23 of 2014 on Regional Government (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia of 2014 No. 244).
Law No. 12 of 2022 on Sexual Violence Offences (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia of 2022 No. 120).
Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia of 2023 No. 1).
Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs No. 52 of 2014 on Guidelines for the Recognition and Protection of Customary Law Communities.
Regional Regulation of Malinau Regency No. 10 of 2012 on the Recognition and Protection of the Rights of Customary Communities of Malinau Regency.
Regent Regulation of Malinau No. 201 of 2014 on the Managing Body for Customary Community Affairs of Malinau Regency.
Regional Regulation of North Kalimantan Province No. 1 of 2019 on the Empowerment of Customary Communities.
Turkish Civil Code (Law No. 4721 of 2001), Article 1 (Türk Medenî Kanunu).
Turkish Penal Code (Law No. 5237 of 2004), Articles 2 and 82 (Türk Ceza Kanunu).
Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 5271 of 2004), Article 253 on mediation (Ceza Muhakemesi Kanunu).
Law No. 6284 of 2012 on the Protection of the Family and the Prevention of Violence against Women (Republic of Türkiye).
Interviews
Ngau of Kayan Hulu (Highest customary authority), Personal Communication, Monday, 15 September 2025.
Kepala Adat, Kayan Hulu Sub-district (Village customary head), Personal Communication, Thursday, 13 November 2025.
Member of the Lit Adat Ngau, Kayan Hulu Sub-district, Personal Communication, Saturday, 10 January 2026.
Authors
Copyright (c) 2026 Sri Ayu Astuti, Berthi Ramadhani P, Alfonso Soares
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