CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY OF CHILDREN IN NARCOTICS CRIMES

Abstract

This study examines the criminal liability of children in narcotics crimes by highlighting the disharmony between the penal policy stipulated in Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics and the principles of child protection as affirmed in Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System. The increasing involvement of children in narcotics abuse and illicit trafficking raises complex legal issues. On the one hand, children as perpetrators of narcotics crimes must be held criminally accountable. However, on the other hand, children are individuals who are still developing and therefore require a rehabilitative approach, not merely a repressive one.

The method used is normative legal research, examining primary legal materials in the form of laws and court decisions, as well as secondary legal materials in the form of literature and previous research. The analysis was conducted qualitatively through a legislative and conceptual approach to examine the extent to which the Indonesian legal system provides protection and enforces the law for child drug offenders.

Research results indicate that child criminalization in drug cases is often repressive and prison-oriented, potentially leading to negative impacts such as stigmatization, trauma, and failure of social reintegration. Therefore, a reformulation of child criminal liability is needed, emphasizing restorative justice, diversion, and medical and social rehabilitation, particularly for child users and couriers. For child dealers, criminal liability remains possible but must consider the principle of the child's best interests. Therefore, child criminal liability in drug crimes must be directed at a balance between legal certainty, child protection, and the goal of preventing drug abuse.