The Doctoral Program in Legal Studies (PDIH) at the UGM Faculty of Law has produced another graduate whose work promises to bring meaningful reform to Indonesia's criminal justice system. Rugun Romaida Hutabarat, who also serves as Chair of the Undergraduate Law Program at Universitas Tarumanegara, successfully defended her dissertation titled "Selective and Limitative Policy in the Imposition of Short-Term Imprisonment as the Fulfillment of Sentencing Objectives in Indonesia" at the open doctoral defense on Friday, February 13, 2026.
In her research, Rugun highlights Indonesia's legal system's over-reliance on custodial sentences as a driver of prison overcrowding (overkapasitas). She identifies a dominance of single-penalty provisions in the old criminal code (Wetboek van Strafrecht/WvS) — reaching 67.4% of all provisions — that severely limits judicial discretion in imposing alternative sanctions. Through an analysis of Law No. 1 of 2023 (the National Penal Code/KUHP Nasional), Rugun proposes a strengthening of selective and limitative sentencing policies so that short-term imprisonment can be replaced by more humane alternative penalties.
One of the key innovations she proposes is the implementation of leisure-time imprisonment (pidana waktu luang) or instalment imprisonment (pidana angsuran). This concept allows convicted persons to serve their sentence at weekends, without losing their functional role in the family and community — thereby genuinely supporting the goals of rehabilitation and social reintegration. The approach is specifically intended for low-risk offenders in steady employment, with application-based supervision by the public prosecutor and accompaniment by a community supervisor (pembimbing kemasyarakatan) to ensure compliance throughout the sentence.
The doctoral defense was chaired by Prof. Adrianto Dwi Nugroho, S.H., Adv.LL.M., LL.D. as Head of the Examining Panel. The Promotor team comprised Prof. Dr. Marcus Priyo Gunarto, S.H., M.Hum. as Promotor and Dr. Aroma Elmina Martha, S.H., M.H. from the Faculty of Law at Universitas Islam Indonesia as Co-Promotor. The examining panel also included Dr. Supriyadi, S.H., M.Hum., Richo Andi Wibowo, S.H., LL.M., Ph.D., Dr. Muhammad Fatahillah Akbar, S.H., LL.M., and Dr. Muhammad Rustamaji, S.H., M.H. from Universitas Sebelas Maret as external examiner. The examining panel awarded Rugun a final grade of A. This result places Rugun as the 279th doctoral graduate of the UGM Faculty of Law and the 7,152nd doctoral graduate of Universitas Gadjah Mada.
Rugun's achievement in completing her doctorate while raising a child as a single parent — and having lost both parents during her studies — was an inspiration to all those present. This academic resilience reflects a commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — in particular SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). Her dissertation is expected not only to enrich the scholarship of constitutional law and criminal law, but also to serve as a strategic guide for the Supreme Court and policymakers in overseeing the implementation of rehabilitative justice — ensuring that the law's practical benefit to those seeking justice is genuinely realized.
Author : Wisnu Arya Audanta (Part-Time Staff, Doctoral Program in Law)
