Reformulating the Sentencing System in Corruption Cases Based on Effectiveness

Authors
  • Nour Mansour

    International Islamic University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Author

  • Anisa Rahma

    Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel, Surabaya, Indonesia

    Author

  • Siti Aisyah

    Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia

    Author

  • Karim Abdullah

    Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Author

  • Mutiara Safira

    Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Author

Keywords:
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Abstract

Without the courage to prioritise effectiveness, the law will merely remain a rhetorical platform that fails to penetrate the rationality of those who commit corruption and is incapable of delivering a genuine deterrent effect for the sake of moral sustainability and public integrity. This study aims to analyse and reformulate the sentencing system for corruption cases in Indonesia using an effectiveness-based approach. This study employs a socio-legal approach within a mixed-methods, explanatory research design. The findings confirm that the failure to eradicate corruption in Indonesia is not primarily due to lenient penalties, but rather to flaws in the penal system's design, which remains trapped in the illusion of retribution and disregards the logic of structural effectiveness. Consequently, the required reformulation is not merely to impose harsher sanctions, but to overhaul the architecture of criminal law into a systemic engineering instrument capable of severing the incentives for corruption, closing unaccountable discretionary loopholes, and prioritising the recovery of state losses. The effectiveness of criminal sanctions must be measured by their systemic impact, not their symbolism, which, in practice, demands the application of strict sentencing standards, aggressive economic sanctions, and cross-institutional accountability, whilst, theoretically, challenging the dominance of the classical paradigm through a multidisciplinary approach based on governance.

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2026-03-01
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Copyright (c) 2026 Nour Mansour, Anisa Rahma, Siti Aisyah, Karim Abdullah, Mutiara Safira (Author)

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Reformulating the Sentencing System in Corruption Cases Based on Effectiveness. (2026). Indonesian Journal of Corruption and Criminal Justice, 1(1), 14-26. https://doi.org/10.65586/ijccj.v1i1.7