A NORMATIVE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCING FOR HUSBANDS WHO COMMIT ACTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST THEIR WIVES

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the application of substantive criminal law regarding the crime of murder and to evaluate the ratio decidendi of the North Jakarta District Court panel of judges in imposing a criminal sanction on the defendant, Fauzan Fahmi (alias Ome). The primary issues examined include the legal provisions governing murder under Articles 338 through 340 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) and the judges’ legal reasoning in determining the sanction for the defendant. The study employs a normative-juridical legal research method, utilizing statutory, conceptual, and case-based approaches. The findings indicate that the regulation of murder within the Criminal Code is structured hierarchically based on the gradation of culpability (verwijtbaarheid). The application of Article 338 of the Criminal Code in this specific case was legally sound, as the intent to kill arose spontaneously due to provocation by the victim’s words, without a “cooling-off” period for reflection (in kalme beraad). The panel of judges imposed a 14-year prison sentence based on the cumulative fulfillment of all elements of Article 338, established through scientific crime investigation methods, specifically the Visum et Repertum (forensic medical report) and DNA testing. The judges’ sociological and philosophical considerations incorporated the Integrative Theory of Sentencing, balancing the social impact of the crime and the defendant’s status as a recidivist against the educational and corrective functions of sentencing.