Plea Bargaining in Corruption Cases: A Solution for the Recovery of Financial Losses by Indonesia?

This paper discusses the possibility for Indonesia of the plea-bargaining model as a solution for the recovery of financial losses to the state in corruption cases. Plea bargaining has become a common procedure in common law countries, where the majority of cases are resolved through the mechanism of plea bargaining. This paper uses a conceptual, historical, and comparative approach through literature review to examine how Indonesia as a civil law country could apply plea bargaining in its criminal justice system, particularly in cases of corruption involving financial losses to the state. This paper concludes that corruption prevention efforts focusing on state losses require new approaches to be more effective; this would be in line with both the UNCAC as well as the applicable elements of the legal system in Indonesia. The mechanism of plea bargaining, an agreement reached between the prosecutor and the accused persons in which the accused person acknowledges his or her guilt and willingly returns the gains of their corruption, is, on the other hand, still in line with one of the clauses in the UNCAC, and also has similarities with the existing provisions of the Indonesian Criminal Code through the Afdoening Buiten Proces as well as in the Law on Economic Offences.