The Potential Criminalization of Confessions in the Perspective of Due Process of Law
Potensi Kriminalisasi Pengakuan Bersalah Dalam Perspektif Due Process of Law
Abstract
This study analyses the provisions on guilty pleas in the Indonesian criminal justice system, examining the potential for criminalisation from the perspective of due process of law. The study was prompted by the provisions on guilty pleas in Law Number 20 of 2025 on the Criminal Procedure Code, which sparked debate about the prospect of criminalisation if a guilty plea is made involuntarily. This study uses a normative legal research method, taking a statutory, conceptual and comparative approach. Primary, secondary and tertiary legal sources were analysed qualitatively using a descriptive-analytical approach. The results indicate that the provisions on guilty pleas accommodate the principle of due process of law by guaranteeing the right to legal counsel, prohibiting the use of pressure or coercion, ensuring judicial review of the plea's voluntariness, and protecting the defendant’s rights throughout the criminal trial process. These regulations provide adequate legal protection, thereby limiting the potential for criminalisation. However, at the implementation level, this potential may still arise if the roles of legal counsel and the supervisory functions of judges are not realised to their fullest extent. Therefore, optimising the roles of legal counsel and judges in ensuring compliance with the principle of due process of law is essential for the effectiveness of the guilty plea mechanism.
Downloads
References
Aditya. “Pengakuan Bersalah (Plea Bargain) Terdakwa Dalam Implementasi Peradilan Yang Adil (Fair Trial).” QOSIM: Jurnal Pendidikan Sosial & Humaniora 4, no. 3 (2026): 3825-3836. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.61104/jq.v4i3.7326.
Asshiddiqie, Jimmlie. Hukum Acara Pidana Dan Hak Asasi Manusia. Jakarta: Konstitusi Press: Konstitusi Press, 2012.
Atmasasmita, Romli. Sistem Peradilan Pidana Kontemporer. Jakarta: Prenada Media, 2010.
Beenstock, Michael, Josh Guetzkow, and Shir Kamenetsky-Yadan. Plea Bargaining and the Miscarriage of Justice. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 37, Springer US, (2021): 35-72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-019-09441-w.
Cullerne Bown, William. “An Epistemic Theory of the Criminal Process, Part II: Packer, Posner and Epistemic Pressure.” Law, Probability and Risk 21, no. 1 (March 1, 2022): 61-83. https://doi.org/10.1093/lpr/mgac014.
Dervan, Lucian E, Vanessa A Edkins, Thea Johnson, Chris Slobogin, Nancy King, Chaz Arnett, Sam Kamin, et al. “Victims of Coercive Plea Bargaining: Defendants Who Give False Testimony for False Pleas.” American University Law Review 72, no. 6 (2023): 1919-1969.
Dheny Wahyudhi, Sri Rahayu, Elly Sudarti, Herry Liyus. “Prinsip Plea Bargainng Dalam Penyelesaian Perkara Pidana Secara Cepat Sederhana Dan Biaya Ringan Dalam Pembaharuan Hukum Acara Pidana.” Jurnal Sains Sosio Humaniora 6, no. 2 (2022): 46-58.
Fazal Akmal Musyarri & Gina Sabrina. “Urgensi Penerapan Pidana Pengawasan Dalam Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2023 Tentang Kuhp Kajian Putusan Nomor 121/Pid.Sus/2022/Pn.Yyk.” Jurnal Yudisial 16, no. 1 (2023): 65-82. https://doi.org/10.29123/jy/v16i1.586.
Gudjonsson, Gisli H. “The Science-Based Pathways to Understanding False Confessions and Wrongful Convictions.” Frontiers in Psychology 12, no. February (2021): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.633936.
Haeranah, Hijrah Adhyanti Mirzana, Andi Muhammad Aswin Anas, Ismail Iskandar, Arnita Pratiwi Arifin, Ulil Amri, and Normiati Normiati. “The Concept of Plea Bargain in the Criminal Process System in Indonesia.” LAW REFORM 21, no. 1 (2025): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.14710/lr.v21i1.66764.
Hamovitch, Leah, Lesley Zannella, Emma Rempel, and Tara M Burke. “Laypersons’ Misconceptions as a Barrier to Understanding Plea Bargaining’s Innocence Problem.” Psychology, Crime & Law 29, no. 4 (April 21, 2023): 386-407. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2022.2027943.
Harahap, M. Yahya. Pembahasan Permasalahan Dan Penerapan KUHAP. Pemeriksaan Sidang Pengadilan, Banding, Kasasi Dan Peninjauan Kembali. Jakarta: Sinar Grafika, 2017.
Hawasara, Wika, Ramlani Lina Sinaulan, and Tofik Yanuar Candra. “Penerapan Dan Kecenderungan Sistem Pembuktian Yang Dianut Dalam KUHAP.” Aksara: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan Nonformal 8, no. 1 (2022): 587-594. https://doi.org/10.37905/aksara.8.1.587-594.2022.
Helm, Rebecca K., Roxanna Dehaghani, and Daniel Newman. “Guilty Plea Decisions: Moving Beyond the Autonomy Myth.” Modern Law Review 85, no. 1 (2022): 133-163. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12676.
Henderson, Kelsey S., Kelly T. Sutherland, dan Miko M. Wilford. “Reject the Offer”: The Asymmetric Impact of Defense Attorneys’ Plea Recommendations.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 50, no. 9 (2023): 1321-1340. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231172515.
Langer, Máximo. “Plea Bargaining, Conviction Without Trial, and the Global Administratization of Criminal Convictions.” Annual Review of Criminology 4 (2021): 377-411. https://doi.org/10.1146/ANNUREV-CRIMINOL-032317-092255.
Lippke, Richard L. The Ethics of Plea Bargaining. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Lundberg, Alexander. “Do Prosecutors Induce the Innocent to Plead Guilty?” Economic Inquiry 62, no. 2 (2024): 650–674. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.13203.
Marzuki, Peter Mahmud. Penelitian Hukum. Revisi. Jakarta: Kencana, 2021.
McConville, Mike, dan Luke Marsh. “Plea Bargaining: Reshaping Justice and the Adversarial System.” International Journal of Evidence & Proof 24, no. 2 (2020): 162-168.
Morgan, John. “Wrongful Convictions and Claims of False or Misleading Forensic Evidence.” Journal of Forensic Sciences 68, no. 3 (2023): 908-961. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.15233.
Muladi dan, and Barda Nawawi. Teori-Teori Dan Kebijakan Pidana. Bandung: Alumni, 2010.
Packer, Herbert L. The Limits of the Criminal Sanction. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1968.
Picaesa, Annisa Diva, Ferdita Abigael, Mekanisme Common, Sistem Peradilan, and Pidana Indonesia. “Jurnal Legalitas Terbaru : Adaptasi Mekanisme Common Law Dalam Sistem Peradilan Pidana Indonesia.” Jurnal Legalitas 4, no. 1 (2026): 43-53.
Prawira, Yudha. “Reconceptualizing Justice: Utilizing the Fair Trial Principle As A Standard For A State’s Criminal Justice Systems.” Jus Comparatum: Jurnal Of Law Studies 1, no. 2 (2025): 21-38.
Reksodiputro, Mardjono. Sistem Peradilan Pidana Indonesia. Jakarta: Pusat Pelayanan Keadilan dan Pengabdian Hukum UI, 1994.
Soekanto, Soerjono, and Sri Mamudji. Penelitian Hukum Normatif: Suatu Tinjauan Singkat. Jakarta: Rajawali Press, 2018.
Sudarto. Hukum Dan Hukum Pidana. Bandung: Alumni, 2007.
Siregar, Rospita Adelina, Muslimah, Hadibah Z. Wadjo, Hotlarisda Girsang, dan Heri Budianto. “Pengakuan Terdakwa Dalam Proses Persidangan Sebagai Alat Bukti.” Jurnal Kolaboratif Sains 7, no. 4 (2024): 1384-1387. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.56338/jks.v7i4.5178.
Turnip, Rustam Efendi. “Konsep Dasar Terkait Due Process of Law.” Jurnal Hukum Justice 3, no. 2 (2026): 221-231.
Wahyudhi, Wahyu Nandang Herawan, dan Natalia Sihotang. “Adoption of the Plea Bargaining Concept to Improve Judicial Efficiency During the Covid-19 Outbreak.” Law Research Review Quarterly 7, no. 2 (2021): 165-178.
Widiartana, Gregorius. “Pengakuan Bersalah Dalam Pembaruan Hukum Acara Pidana : Antara Efisiensi Proses Peradilan Dan Perlindungan Hak Terdakwa” 19, no. 02 (2026): 82-92.
Yanti, Ni Kadek Dripta, and I Ketut Mertha. “Eksistensi Saksi Mahkota Dalam Proses Peradilan Pidana Di Indonesia Berdasarkan Asas Non Self Incrimination.” Kertha Semaya : Journal Ilmu Hukum 8, no. 12 (2020): 1928-1941. https://doi.org/10.24843/ks.2020.v08.i12.p10.
Copyright (c) 2026 Fitriana Fitriana, Wahyu Mustariyanto, Krisno Jatmiko
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish their manuscripts in this Journal agree to the following conditions:
- The copyright in each article belongs to the author, as well as the right to patent.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
- Authors have the right to self-archiving of the article (Author Self-Archiving Policy)
