The Historical Transformation of Anti-Corruption Policy in Indonesia’s Criminal Justice System

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  • Suud Sarim Karimullah

    Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi IEU, Surabaya, Indonesia

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Abstract

The transformation of anti-corruption policy in Indonesia has evolved dynamically alongside successive changes in political regimes. Nevertheless, much of the existing scholarship has examined anti-corruption policy in a fragmented manner, primarily focusing on regulatory reform, institutional effectiveness, or the performance of individual enforcement bodies. This study examines the historical transformation of anti-corruption policy within Indonesia’s criminal justice system by identifying shifts in anti-corruption paradigms, analysing the evolving relationship between the institutional independence of anti-corruption bodies and state intervention, and tracing changes in the legal-political orientation of anti-corruption governance across different periods of government. Employing a normative legal research method with a historical approach, the study finds that Indonesian anti-corruption policy has undergone a substantive transformation from an instrument of political legitimation during the Old Order and New Order regimes into a modern criminal justice framework grounded in institutional independence, due process of law, and the recognition of corruption as an extraordinary crime requiring exceptional legal responses. This transformation, however, has not proceeded linearly. Each change in political regime has been accompanied by a reconstruction of legal policy that has reshaped institutional design, redistributed authority, and reconfigured relationships among law-enforcement institutions. This study contributes to the literature on the legal politics of anti-corruption by conceptualising policy transformation as a systemic and historically contingent process in which regime change, institutional development, and the dynamics of the criminal justice system interact within an integrated analytical framework.

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2026-06-02
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The Historical Transformation of Anti-Corruption Policy in Indonesia’s Criminal Justice System. (2026). Indonesian Journal of Corruption and Criminal Justice, 1(2), 121-136. https://doi.org/10.65586/ijccj.v1i2.15