Forms of Legal Sanctions

ADCO Law

Sanctions are a form of consequence of the actions of a person or group that violates the rules made either based on the agreement of the parties or the law that applies to the community. Basically, sanctions can be imposed if there are rules that apply so that people must obey them, and if they violate the rules, there are sanctions that must be imposed on those violating the rules. In addition, the application of sanctions is also a form of law enforcement efforts of every country to realize the ideals of law. What are the forms of legal sanctions and how are they further implemented? This article will discuss it further.

A. Definition of Legal Sanction

Legal sanctions are generally a coercive consequence for violations of laws which consequently determines human behavior in society. Laws are made by authorized official bodies, violations of which result in punishments or so-called legal sanctions. According to Black’s Law Dictionary Seventh Edition, sanctions are defined as:

“A penalty or coercive measure that results from failure to comply with a law, rule, or order (a sanction for discovery abuse)”

Meanwhile, according to the Kamus Hukum, sanctions are defined as the result of an act or a reaction from another party (human or social creature). Furthermore, according to Andi Hamzah, sanction can be interpreted as punishment for violators of the provisions of the law. Thus, it can be concluded that sanctions are punishments or coercive actions that result from failure to comply with laws, regulations, or orders.

B. Forms of Legal Sanctions

Based on the prevailing laws and regulations in Indonesia, in general, there are at least three forms of legal sanctions:

• Criminal Law Sanctions
  

  Criminal sanctions are the most widely used form of sanctions in imposing penalties on someone who is found guilty of committing a criminal act. According to R. Soesilo, criminal sanctions are unpleasant feelings (misery) imposed by a judge with a verdict on people who have violated the criminal law. Criminal sanctions are regulated in article 10 of the Criminal Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana, “KUHP”), which distinguishes sanctions into two types of penalty:

1. Principal Penalty:
   • Death penalty
   • Imprisonment
   • Detention
   • Fine penalty

1. Additional penalty:
   • revocation of certain rights
   • confiscation of certain goods
   • announcement of judge’s decision

Read more: Positive Law is

• Civil Law Sanctions
  

  Civil sanctions are applied if the enforcement of the laws causes harm to the person affected by the provisions of the laws. In principle, whoever causes the loss will compensate for the loss in accordance with the loss suffered. Losses that arise as a result of the implementation of laws and regulations can be resolved either through court or non-judicial channels. In civil law, civil law sanctions are imposed in the form of decisions handed down by judges in the form of:

1. 1. Condemnatoir decision: a decision that punishes the defeated party to fulfill its performances (obligations). For example, one party is punished to pay losses; the defeated party is punished to pay court fees.
   2. Declaratoir decision: a decision whose ruling creates a legal condition in accordance with law. This decision is only to explain and confirm a legal situation. For example, a decision stating that the plaintiff is the legal owner of the disputed land.
   3. Constitutive decisions: decisions that eliminate a legal situation and create a new legal situation. For example, a decision that breaks a marriage bond.

• Administrative Sanctions
  Based on sources from various laws and regulations and literature, there are several kinds of administrative sanctions:

1. 1. Verbal warning;
   2. Written warning;
   3. Government coercion (bestuursdwang/politie dwang);
   4. Temporary suspension of activities;
   5. Location closure;
   6. Revocation of business permit;
   7. Cancellation of business permit;
   8. Favorable decision recall:
   9. Administrative fines; and/or
   10. Imposition of forced money (dwangsom).

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Disclaimer: This article has been prepared for scientific reading and marketing purposes only from ADCO Law. Accordingly, all the writings contained herein do not constitute the formal legal opinion of ADCO Law. Therefore, ADCO Law should be held harmless of and/or cannot be held responsible for anything performed by entities who use this writing outside the purposes of ADCO Law.