Criminal Liability of Juvenile Narcotics Users

Abstract

In practice, the juvenile justice system is deemed unable to provide protection and justice for children's rights so that a restorative justice approach is needed so that the law can be used to realize predictive and anticipatory protection. This approach needs to be put forward as an effort to prevent and overcome criminal acts committed by children as victims of narcotics abuse caused by persuasion and threats by adults. This problem focuses on the factors that cause children to abuse narcotics in the juvenile delinquency category to analyze the form of legal protection against the accountability of children who abuse narcotics in Indonesia. The results of the research prove that the criminal regulation against children who abuse narcotics juridically through the Narcotics Law tends to emphasize the aspects of imprisonment rather than protection of the best interests of the child which is inconsistent with the purpose of establishing the Narcotics Law. Therefore, the criminal responsibility for children who abuse narcotics should emphasize medical and social rehabilitation measures.