Pertimbangan Hakim dalam Penjatuhan Tindak Pidana Pelanggaran Lalu Lintas oleh Anak di Kota Medan yang Menyebabkan Meninggal Dunia (Studi Putusan Nomor 28/Pid.Sus Anak/2017/PN. Mdn Putusan Nomor 18/Pid.Sus-Anak/2021/PN Mdn, Putusan Nomor 19/Pid.Sus-Anak/2021/PN Mdn.)

Abstract

The level of traffic offense by minors in Medan indicates an alarming pattern, especially when it causes death. Even though the criminal legal system on minors in Indonesia has been specifically regulated in Law No. 11/2012 on Juvenile Criminal Justice System (UU SPPA), in practice, there is still an imbalance between protection for children and the fulfillment of the victims' rights. Imposing punishment by the judge in the case of a minor who has committed a traffic offense which causes death often does not achieve half of the maximum criminal penalty for adults as specified in Article 81 of the Juvenile Criminal Justice Law: it even tends to be very light, considering the severity of the offense committed by a minor. The research problems are as follows: 1) how is the criminal liability of a minor who has committed a traffic offense which causes death? 2) how are the judges' considerations in imposing criminal sanctions upon minors who have committed traffic offenses which cause death? and 3) how is the legal protection for the victims of traffic criminal offenses committed by minors which cause death? The objective of the research is to analyze juridically and empirically the three problems above by using juridical normative and empirical approaches. The data were gathered by conducting documentary studies on three court verdicts - Verdict No. 28/Pid.Sus-Anak/2017/PN Mdn, Verdict No. 18/Pid.Sus- Anak/2021/PN Mdn, and Verdict No. 19/Pid. Sus-Anak/2021/PN Mdn - along with interviews with law enforcement officials. The result of the research suggests that the judges' considerations in the three verdicts tend to emphasize the protection of minors as offenders without giving sufficient weight to the fatal impact of the victims' deaths. This research uses the theory of legal certainty (Utrecht), which posits that judges have acted according to the applicable legal procedures, and the theory of victimology (J.E. Sahetapy), which finds that protection for victims has not been optimally accommodated in the judicial process. The conclusion of this research is that the criminal justice system for minors in Indonesia needs improvement to ensure a balance between the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders and the pursuit of substantive justice for victims. An evaluation of the sentencing standards for minors involved in fatal traffic accidents is necessary, and the role of judges should be strengthened to bridge protection for minors and the restoration of victims' rights.