Contempt of Court: Some Considerations for Weighting Criminal Sanctions

Abstract

Increasingly expanding various actions that have been categorised as contempt of court, which threaten the authority of the court, it is necessary to regulate. The research method used is the normative legal method using statute, case, and conceptual approaches. This research is a legal study based on norms in force related to the contempt of court in existing regulations. The results show that all forms of actions that, in principle, disrupt safety, psychological and physical calm both inside and outside the trial, can be categorized as contempt of court. Although contempt of court has not been regulated clearly and firmly in statutory regulation many events can be classified as contempt of court. The scope of contempt of court in the justice system in Indonesia is very broad. The weighting of criminal sanctions is imposed based on the category of the seriousness of the crime committed by the defendant. Criminal weighting can be given if a crime fulfils special elements. Considering that the criminal justice process takes much time or is complex contempt of court can be used as a factor in increasing criminal sanction by the defendant so that there is no need for a new or separate criminal justice process to be held.