A LEGAL ANALYSIS OF LEGAL CERTAINTY AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF RECLASSIFYING CIVIL DISPUTES AS EXTRAORDINARY CRIMES

Abstract

This research departs from the phenomenon of debt collection practices by debt collectors which often exceed legal and ethical boundaries, thus raising the question of whether such actions should be qualified as a breach of contract in the civil realm or as a criminal act or even an extraordinary crime. The focus of the study is directed at the consistency of the application of the principle of legal certainty in civil cases that have the potential to enter the criminal realm, with the main study being Decision Number 311 / Pid.B / 2023 / PN JKT.SEL and its comparison with Decision Number 30 / Pdt.G / 2025 / PNPdg. The difference in the judges’ assessments in the two decisions indicates the existence of legal uncertainty which has implications for public protection and the potential for criminalization of contractual disputes. Therefore, this research emphasizes the urgency of a clear demarcation between the civil and criminal realms to ensure legal certainty is maintained and the principle of ultimum remedium in criminal law is not diminished. The research method used is a normative juridical approach with statutory, case-based, and conceptual approaches. The statutory approach is conducted by examining the applicable legal norms in the 1945 Constitution, the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, Law No. 42 of 1999 concerning Fiduciary Guarantees, and Law No. 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection. The case-based approach is conducted by analyzing the ratio decidendi of judges in relevant court decisions, particularly the South Jakarta District Court and the Padang District Court. Meanwhile, the conceptual approach is used to understand the principle of legal certainty and the principle of ultimum remedium in criminal law. Primary legal materials include statutory regulations and court decisions, while secondary legal materials consist of the doctrines of legal experts, journals, and academic literature. With this method, the research attempts to provide a comprehensive analysis of the consistency of the application of the principle of legal certainty in disputes that have the potential to shift from the civil to the criminal realm. The formulation of the problem in this research is formulated as follows: (1) How is the application of the principle of legal certainty in civil cases that have the potential to enter the criminal realm, especially in the Decision of the South Jakarta District Court Number 311/Pid.B/2023 and the Decision of the Padang District Court Number 30/Pdt.G/2025? The judge’s decision apparatus in distinguishing default disputes from criminal acts in cases of debt collection by debt collectors? (2) What are the legal implications of the inconsistent application of the principle of legal certainty to public protection and the principle of ultimum remedium in criminal law? With this problem formulation, this research is expected to contribute to the development of legal science, especially in preventing the misuse of criminal law as a means of pressure in private disputes, while at the same time strengthening legal certainty as a fundamental principle in the Indonesian legal system.