A Juridical Analysis of Effectiveness Cohabitation in Indonesia and Netherlands
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Made Wahyu Artha Sedana
I Dewa Ayu Dwi Mayasari
This research examines the regulation of the criminal act of cohabitation under Article 412 of the New Indonesian Penal Code and its implications for social life, the criminal justice system, women’s protection, population administration, and national legal reform. The criminalization of cohabitation, framed as an absolute complaint-based offense, reflects a moralistic approach by the state in regulating intimate relationships and family life while simultaneously expanding state intervention into the private sphere. This research employs a normative juridical method with conceptual, statutory, and comparative approaches to assess the alignment of the regulation with legal certainty, human rights protection, and the dynamics of a pluralistic society. The research further analyzes whether the criminalization of cohabitation in Indonesia aligns with contemporary human rights standards, the principles of proportionality and legal certainty, and the doctrine of ultimum remedium in criminal law policy. Moreover, the criminal regulation of cohabitation in Indonesia reflects a moralistic approach that potentially intrudes into the private sphere and risks conflicting with human rights principles, particularly in a pluralistic society. In contrast, the Netherlands adopts a restraint-based and facilitative legal model that respects individual autonomy and privacy while ensuring legal protection through non-penal instruments. This study concludes that the protection of social values and family integrity does not necessarily require criminal sanctions and that alternative regulatory approaches may offer a more proportional, fair, and human rights compliant framework.
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