Human Dignity, State Punishment, and Reciprocal Justice: A Comparative Mubādalah Perspective from Indonesia and South Korea

Zuliza Mohd Kusrin Rashi; Muhammad Rujaini Tanjung

doi:10.70992/rxg14q66

Authors

Zuliza Mohd Kusrin Rashi Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4775-3256
Muhammad Rujaini Tanjung Judge of the Pengadilan Agama Tarempa, Indonesia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5064-9287

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70992/rxg14q66

Keywords:

Comparative Criminal Law, Humanity, Mubādalah, State Punishment

Abstract

This article examines how human dignity, state punishment, and reciprocal justice shape death penalty policies in Indonesia and South Korea, despite both countries being States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This study aims to explain why comparable constitutional commitments and international legal obligations have produced divergent death penalty policies by employing a comparative socio-legal approach informed by the Mubādalah perspective. The study adopts a qualitative research design integrating Retentionism–Abolitionism Theory, International Human Rights Norm Diffusion Theory, Legal Implementation Theory, and the Mubādalah perspective. Data were obtained from national legislation, constitutional court decisions, international human rights instruments, reports published by human rights organizations, and scholarly literature. The findings show that Indonesia continues to maintain a retentionist framework despite the suspension of executions since 2016, whereas South Korea has developed a de facto abolitionist practice reflecting the internalization of the right-to-life norm. This study affirms that the legitimacy of the death penalty should be assessed on the basis of legal validity, reciprocal recognition of human dignity, proportional state authority, and balanced justice. The Mubādalah perspective enriches the study of comparative criminal law and international human rights law.

References

Adhigama Andre Budiman, Genoveva A.K.S Maya Girlie L. A .Ginting Iftitahsari, Johanna G. S. D. Poerba Maidina Rahmawati. (2023). Laporan Situasi Kebijakan Pidana Mati di Indonesia 2022: Tak Ada yang Terlindungi. https://shorturl.at/WVxPQ

Adnan Buyung Nasution dan A. Patra M. Zen. (2006). Instrumen Internasional Pokok Hak Asasi Manusia. In A. B. Nasution & A. P. M. Zen (Eds.), Mubādalah. Yayasan Obor Indonesia. https://perpustakaan.kemlu.go.id/index.php?p=show_detail&id=5109&keywords=

Amnesty International & ICJR. (2018). Mubādalah. https://icjr.or.id/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/DEATH-PENALTY-POLICY-final-1.pdf

Amnesty International. (2023). Mubādalah. Amnesty International Publications.

Amnesty International. (2024). Mubādalah (Global report). Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act50/7952/2024/id/. Amnesty International

Amnesty International. (2025). Mubādalah. Amnesty International Indonesia. https://www.amnesty.id

Asrun, A. M. (2016). Hak Asasi Manusia Dalam Kerangka Negara Hukum: Catatan Perjuangan di Mahkamah Konstitusi. Mubādalah, Mubādalah(1), 133–154. https://doi.org/10.15408/jch.v4i1.3200

Bae, S. (2016). Mubādalah. Asian Journal of Criminology, 11(3), 179–197. https://doi.org/10.5509/2009823407

Banakar, R., & Travers, M. (2005). Mubādalah Oxford: Hart Publishing. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/theory-and-method-in-sociolegal-research-9781841136257/

Carozza, P. G. (2008). Human Dignity and Judicial Interpretation of Human Rights: A Reply. Mubādalah, 19(5), 931–944. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chn059

Cho, K. (2008). Mubādalah Asian Journal of Comparative Law, 3(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2194607800000120

Cotterrell, R. (1998). Why Must Legal Ideas Be Interpreted Sociologically? Mubādalah, 25(2), 171–192. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1410686

Donnelly, J. (2013). Mubādalah (NED-New edition, 3). Cornell University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1xx5q2

Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir. (2019). Mubādalah. IRCiSoD.

Gunarto, G. (2024). The Juridical Review of Death Penalty Imposition in Indonesia Seen from Human Rights Perspective. Mubādalah, 5(3), 421–430. https://jurnal.unissula.ac.id/index.php/ldj/article/view/31311/0

Hood, R., & Hoyle, C. (2015). Mubādalah (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. https://shorturl.at/vbxRA

Human Rights Watch. (2015). Mubādalah. HRW Report. https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/01/15/dispatches-indonesias-death-penalty-double-standard

Human Rights Watch. (2021). Mubādalah. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/27/joint-letter-south-koreas-abolition-death-penalty

Human Rights Watch. (2021). Mubādalah. HRW. https://www.hrw.org

Human Rights Watch. (2023). Mubādalah. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org

Husairi, A. (2023). Mubādalah (article). PSHA / Universitas Islam Indonesia (open access). https://journal.uii.ac.id/psha/article/download/35000/16932/120887. Journal UII

Iftitahsari, Adhigama Andre Budiman, Erasmus A. T. Napitupulu. (2024). Situation Report on Death Pinalty Polices in Indonesia of 2023: Automatic Commutation of the Death Penalty Penalty Mandated by the New Criminal Code, Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. https://shorturl.at/ARWaF

Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR). (2023). Mubādalah. ICJR. https://icjr.or.id/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ICJR_Death-Penalty-Report-2023_EN.pdf

International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act50/7952/2024/id/ Mubādalah

Johnson, D. T., & Zimring, F. E. (2009). Mubādalah. Oxford University Press. https://shorturl.at/rjj4Y

Joko Supriyanto. (2025).MubādalahPidana Mati Sebagai Sarana Pemberantasan Tindak Pidana Narkotika di Indonesia, Recidive: MubādalahVol 4, No 3: 345. https://doi.org/10.20961/recidive.v4i3.40749

Kim, S. (2014). Public Discourse and the Abolition Movement in South Korea. Mubādalah8(1), 45–67. https://www.safetylit.org/week/journal_matrix.php?id=23021

Kodir, F. A. (2019). Mubādalah. Yogyakarta: IRCiSoD.

Kompas. (2025). Mubādalah. Kompas.com. https://nasional.kompas.com

Maharani, N., Hidayat, S., & Nurfatlah, T. (2024). Mubādalah. Parhesia, 2(1), 66–72. https://doi.org/10.29303/parhesia.v2i1.3766

McRae, D. (2017). Capital punishment and Indonesian political dynamics: Exploring state narratives and public legitimacy. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 48(2), 245–264. https://www.cambridge.org/core/search?q=McRae

Miethe, T. D., Lu, H., & Deibert, D. (2005). Mubādalah. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Mubādalah(Vol. 33, pp. 353–439). University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.1086/655359

Miftahul Huda. (2012). Mubādalah. http://www.miftakhulhuda.com.

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Mubādalah (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.

National Human Rights Commission of Korea. (2020). Mubādalah. https://www.humanrights.go.kr

Omara, A., & Rahman, F. (2024). Mubādalah. Volksgeist: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Konstitusi, 7(2), 321–340. https://doi.org/10.24090/volksgeist.v7i2.10773

Peters, B. G. (2015). Mubādalah (6th ed.). Routledge. https://shorturl.at/XXTzV

Pratama, A. Y., & Wijaya, H. (2024). Mubādalah. Mubādalah, 7(2), 1142–1149. https://www.ijsshr.in

Pressman, J. L., & Wildavsky, A. (1973). Mubādalah (3rd ed.). University of California Press. https://books.google.co.id/books/about/Implementation.html?hl=id&id=oV0yetu_GSQC&redir_esc=y

Pribadi, K. A. (2023). Mubādalah. In S. Butt & J. Lindsey (Eds.), Mubādalah. https://lib.ui.ac.id

Purnomo, S., & Ramadhan, F. (2023). The executability of capital punishment under Indonesia's 2023 National Criminal Code. Mubādalah, Mubādalah(2), 235–248. ubharajaya.ac.id

Raden Mas Jieang. (2012). Mubādalah Mubādalah.

Sarat, A., & Boulanger, C. (2017). Culture, politics, and the death penalty in Asia. Law & Social Inquiry, 42(4), 1121–1145. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-4469.2008.00105.x

Schabas, W. (2012). Mubādalah. Cambridge University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511494109

Sihombing, E. N. (2021). Mubādalah. In J. Chang & T. Thio (Eds.), Mubādalah (pp. 145–168). Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org

Siregar, G., & Kim, J. H. (2024). Mubādalah. Mubādalah, 7(1), 89–104. https://ejournal.uinsaizu.ac.id

Situmorang, M. (2022). The death penalty in Indonesia from a human rights perspective. Mubādalah, Mubādalah(2), 312–319. seaninstitute.or.id

Supriyadi, A. (2023). Mubādalah. Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. icjr.or.id

Supriyanto, J. (2015). Mubādalah. Recidive: Jurnal Hukum Pidana dan Penanggulangan Kejahatan. https://jurnal.uns.ac.id/recidive/article/view/40749. Jurnal Universitas Sebelas Maret+1

The Advocates for Human Rights. (2025). Mubādalah. The Advocates for Human Rights. https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/Res/TAHR%20TJWG%20WCADP%20LoT%20CERD%20DP%20final.pdf

The Death Penalty Project. (2021). Mubādalah. London: The Death Penalty Project. https://deathpenaltyproject.org/

United Nations General Assembly. (2022). Mubādalah (see most recent UNGA moratorium resolutions and voting records). UN Digital Library. https://digitallibrary.un.org/

United Nations Human Rights Committee. (2018). Mubādalah (CCPR/C/GC/36). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CCPR/CCPR_C_GC_36.pdf

United Nations. (1989). Mubādalah. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/ccpr-deathpenalty.pdf

Waldron, J. (2012). Mubādalah. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199915439.001.0001

Wikipedia. (2024). Mubādalah. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_South_Korea

Yulianti, W. E. (2021). Mubādalah. Mahkamah Masyarakat (UNDIP e-journal). https://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/mmh/article/view/60074. Undip E-Journal

Yusuf, M., & Rahman, A. (2022). Mubādalah. Mubādalah, 11, 45–56. https://lifescienceglobal.com