The Effectiveness of the Application of Criminal Sanctions in Corruption Cases under Supreme Court Regulation (PERMA) No. 1 of 2020

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-519-5_30How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Criminal Sentencing; Corruption Case; Proportional Justice; State Financial Loss; National Audit Board

Abstract

Sentencing disparities in corruption cases remain a persistent issue in Indonesia, eroding public trust in the judiciary and prompting legal reforms. In an effort to address this, the Supreme Court issued Regulation (PERMA) No. 1 of 2020 on Sentencing Guidelines for Articles 2 and 3 of the Corruption Eradication Law, intended to ensure legal certainty, proportionality, and consistency in sentencing. However, questions remain regarding its effectiveness in practice. This study aims to assess whether the imposition of criminal sanctions in corruption cases has aligned with the principles and procedural requirements set forth in PERMA, particularly in minimizing unjust disparities. The urgency of this research lies in the need to evaluate the regulation’s real-world application and its capacity to harmonize sentencing outcomes for cases of similar characteristics. Using a normative juridical method with secondary data, the analysis focuses on corruption verdicts available in the Supreme Court’s online decision directory. Findings from the monitoring of decisions between March and June 2021 show that, out of 4 District Court and 6 High Court rulings reviewed, only 1 High Court decision explicitly applied PERMA No. 1 of 2020 in its legal considerations. This is inconsistent with Article 3(c) jo. Article 5(1) of the PERMA, which obliges judges to consider all stipulated sentencing stages, including culpability, impact, benefit, and sentencing range. In most cases, courts only addressed certain elements such as the category of state loss, aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and sentencing while omitting other mandatory factors. The study concludes that while PERMA No. 1 of 2020 provides a comprehensive framework to guide sentencing in corruption cases, its partial and inconsistent application limits its intended role in ensuring proportional, uniform, and just punishments.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Joko Probowinarto
AU  - Pujiyono Suwadi
AU  - Muhammad Rustamaji
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/29
TI  - The Effectiveness of the Application of Criminal Sanctions in Corruption Cases under Supreme Court Regulation (PERMA) No. 1 of 2020
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Law, Economics & good Governance (ICLAW 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 366
EP  - 383
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-519-5_30
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-519-5_30
ID  - Probowinarto2025
ER  -