ABSTRACT
The problem of crime and punishment has existed for as long as human history. Nevertheless, it continues to be debated and remains controversial. The most significant question relevant to punishment is its philosophy or main purpose. Joining this debate, this paper elaborates on the undertakings of the legal drafters of the Indonesian Bill on the Criminal Code (or the Bill), who stipulated the aims of punishment in the Bill, while most penal code drafters in other countries appear to elude such stipulation. Furthermore, while the global trend is to consider only the aims developed in the Western hemisphere, such as retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation and restorative justice, the Bill’s legal drafters also considered Indonesian local wisdom related to punishment. The incorporation of such local wisdom changes the paradigm of the existing penal code—which is the legacy of the colonial regime—into one that represents the core norms and values of the Indonesian people.
