ALTERNATIVE TO A FINE IN INDONESIA

My Principle: "Uphold the ultimum remedium principle if it can bring justice to the Victim and the Perpetrator."

Fines are one form of punishment for perpetrators of a criminal act. For further information about the forms of punishment for perpetrators of a criminal act, you can refer to Article 10 of the Criminal Code, which reads:

Punishments consist of:

a. Primary Punishments: Death Penalty, Imprisonment, Detention, Fine, and Probation;

b. Additional Punishments: Revocation of certain rights, confiscation of certain property, and judicial decision announcements;

From the above explanation, it is clear that a Fine is one of the primary punishments that can be imposed on a perpetrator of a criminal act.

The question arises when someone's status changes to that of a convict, and during their sentence, it turns out they cannot afford to pay the fine. How does the law and legal system respond?

To answer this question, we need to refer to the legal provisions in Article 30, Article 31, and Article 32 of the Criminal Code, which regulate the legal remedies that can be taken if a fine is not paid by the convict.

Article 30 of the Criminal Code briefly explains that if a convict is sentenced to pay a fine and the fine is not paid, it will be replaced by imprisonment, with a minimum imprisonment period of 1 (one) day and a maximum of 6 (six) months. Furthermore, the Criminal Code has a unique provision regarding the amount of the fine, which is very different from contemporary developments. There is no adjustment between the limit of the fine amount and the duration of imprisonment imposed on the perpetrator. For example:

If the fine is half a rupiah or less, it will be replaced by 1 (one) day of imprisonment. For fines greater than that, each half rupiah will be replaced by no more than one day of imprisonment, and for the remainder, if it is less than half a rupiah, it will also be one day of imprisonment. In addition, the maximum imprisonment period is 8 (eight) months, as the maximum fine is increased due to multiple offenses or other circumstances specified in Article 52.

It is different for the substitute for a fine in Narcotics Offenses, where the substitute punishment is imprisonment. This provision is regulated in Article 148 of Law No. 35 of 2009, which states:

"If the fine penalty as stipulated in this Law cannot be paid by perpetrators of Narcotics and Precursor Narcotics offenses, the perpetrators shall be sentenced to a maximum imprisonment of 2 (two) years as a substitute for the unpaid fine."

Based on the above explanation, it is clear that if a convict cannot pay the fine, they will be subject to a substitute fine in the form of imprisonment for a maximum of 2 (two) years.