Dignified Justice and the Reconstruction of Indonesia’s Juvenile Criminal Law: Lessons from Australia toward SDG 16

Indonesia's juvenile justice system, governed by Law No. 11 of 2012 on the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, continues to face challenges arising from restrictive diversion provisions and the continued use of detention. Although Australia has developed more flexible diversionary mechanisms under the Youth Justice Act 1992 (Queensland) and the Young Offenders Act 1997 (New South Wales), persistent inequalities affecting First Nations children demonstrate that restorative justice alone cannot eliminate structural disadvantage. This study examines the juvenile justice systems of Indonesia and Australia to develop a reconstruction model for Indonesia based on the concept of dignified justice. Using normative legal research with comparative and conceptual approaches, it analyzes legislation, international instruments, and relevant legal scholarship. The study finds that Indonesia's diversion framework remains constrained by statutory sentencing thresholds rather than the child's individual circumstances and rehabilitative needs. It proposes a dignified justice-based model comprising a hybrid age-responsibility assessment, expanded child-centered diversion, stronger safeguards governing detention, and institutional reform. By positioning the protection of children's dignity as the normative foundation of juvenile justice, this study offers an integrated framework that strengthens child rights protection and supports the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16.