PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AS WITNESS AND VICTIMS OF CRIMINAL ACTIONS IN LEGAL REGULATIONS

Abstract

Efforts to protect witnesses and victims are things that are done to expedite the
criminal justice process. In cases where there are victims and witnesses, in this case
children, a legal regulation is needed that specifically regulates this. In this case, if a
child is placed as a witness in the criminal justice process to expedite the course of
criminal justice, of course, it must be realized by Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning
the Juvenile Criminal Justice System. These legal regulations place rights,
obligations, institutions, and matters relating to children when they are in a criminal
incident. This is also a mandate and also a form of ratification of the Beijing Rules
and also the 1945 Constitution. Specifically in the legal regulations, restorative
justice is placed as an alternative settlement of criminal cases against children,
namely in the form of diversion. As the settlement of criminal imposition is a last
resort, this applies to children's cases. For this reason, the placement of children as
witnesses and victims in statutory regulations requires special action so that in reality
in society and the legal regulations that are made can have synchronization.