Tinjauan Kriminologis terhadap Delik Perzinaan dan Gelandangan dalam KUHP Baru: Antara Dekriminalisasi dan Rekriminalisasi

Abstract

This research explores the criminological implications of the New Criminal Code (Law No. 1 of 2023) regarding the offenses of adultery and vagrancy, analyzing the tension between decrimizalization and recriminalization. The study utilizes a normative-legal method with a criminological approach to examine how the new code shifts from colonial paradigms to national values. The findings reveal a significant trend of recriminalization in adultery offenses, as the law expands its scope to include non-marital sexual relations and cohabitation, reflecting an effort to integrate religious morality into positive law. Conversely, the retention of vagrancy as a criminal offense, despite a shift toward fines, indicates a failure to fully decriminalize structural poverty, perpetuating the "criminalization of the poor." The analysis demonstrates that the New Criminal Code acts as a double-edged sword: it seeks decolonization through moral identity but remains repressive toward social vulnerabilities. This study concludes that the expansion of moral offenses risks overcriminalization and potential human rights violations in the private sphere. Therefore, during the transitional period, law enforcement must prioritize restorative justice and legal utility over formalistic punishment to ensure that the new legal framework achieves substantive justice rather than merely serving as an instrument of social control.