1st International Conference on Drugs Research and Policy 2024

On Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, the Indonesia Judicial Research Society (IJRS) had the opportunity to participate in the “1st International Conference on Drugs Research and Policy 2024”. The conference, held at the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia and also conducted online, served as a platform to gather policymakers, researchers, healthcare professionals, law enforcement agencies, and civil society organizations to engage in constructive dialogues and knowledge-sharing on contemporary drugs policy issues. During the conference, IJRS researchers participated as speakers in panels 2 and 3.

Siti Ismaya (Researcher at IJRS) had the opportunity to speak in Panel 2: Decriminalization of Drugs Policy in Indonesia: Gratuitous and Other Measurement Provisions, presenting a research titled “The Urgency of Restructuring the Criminal Provisions of The Indonesia Narcotics Law 35/2009”. The research addressed the uncertainties and proportionality issues in the criminal provisions of the narcotics law, proposing five preliminary recommendations for restructuring these provisions: abolishing mandatory minimum penalties (imprisonment and fines), formulating proportional penalties considering the seriousness of the offense, avoiding overlapping criminal provisions, establishing a threshold for criminal justice system intervention (personal use threshold), and abolishing the death penalty. It is hoped that restructuring these criminal provisions will enhance legal certainty and improve proportionality by creating a better hierarchy of penalties.

Saffah Salisa Az-zahro’ (Researcher at IJRS) had the opportunity to speak in Panel 3: Harm Reduction Policy Making and Evidence, presenting a research titled “Cost of Crime and Criminal Justice in Drug Offenses”. The research analyzed the perceived impacts and costs borne by offenders, their families, and the government in narcotics criminal proceedings using interdisciplinary economic, legal, and social science analyses. The initial findings of the research revealed significant costs incurred despite the majority of offenders and their families having insufficient financial resources, with monthly incomes below the minimum wage. Additionally, there were adverse effects of criminal proceedings on the physical, psychological, social, economic, and educational conditions of offenders and their families. It is hoped that the methodology developed in this research will be beneficial for the government in reforming narcotics criminal justice.

📱Please check out the presentation material at the following link: bit.ly/Materi-Panel-IJRS