KEADILAN UNTUK KAUM MARGINAL: REFLEKSI FILOSOFIS KASUS NENEK MINAH DAN DISKRIMINASI STRUKTURAL DALAM PENEGAKAN HUKUM

Abstract

The widely discussed “Nenek Minah” case has become an emblem of how criminal law in Indonesia is harsh toward the poor yet lenient toward the powerful. This article offers a philosophical reconstruction of justice for marginalized groups by analysing the case in light of the principle of equality before the law, classical theories of justice, and the contemporary development of restorative justice. Using a normative juridical method with statutory, case, and conceptual-philosophical approaches based on recent literature, the study finds that applying Article 362 of the Indonesian Criminal Code to an elderly farm worker who picked three cocoa pods merely realises formal justice while failing to achieve substantive justice as conceived by Aristotle (proportionality), Rawls (justice as fairness), Dworkin (equal concern and respect), and Indonesian progressive legal thought. The case also exposes structural discrimination that undermines equality before the law and shifts the ideal of the rule of law toward rule by law. The article proposes reconstructing the criminal justice system to better protect marginalized groups through a stronger restorative justice framework, expanded legal aid and ethically guided prosecutorial and policing discretion, and cultural reform of legal institutions grounded in Pancasila’s ideal of social justice.