Supreme Court to Soon Issue a Supreme Court Regulation on Plea Bargaining

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia (Mahkamah Agung – “MA”) has established a Working Group to draft a Supreme Court Regulation (Peraturan Mahkamah Agung – “PERMA”) on plea bargaining, or admission of guilt. This mechanism provides defendants with an opportunity to admit guilt at an early stage of the judicial process, in exchange for expedited proceedings and the possibility of a reduced sentence.

“The process has been underway since last November, and it is targeted to be issued in the near future, concurrently with the entry into force of the new Criminal Procedure Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Acara Pidana – “KUHAP”) in January 2026,” said Prim Haryadi, Chairman of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, to Hukumonline.

Provisions governing this mechanism are set out in Article 78 of Law No. 20 of 2025 on the KUHAP, under which plea bargaining may only be applied subject to certain conditions, including that it is undertaken by a first-time offender; applies to criminal offenses punishable by imprisonment of up to five years or a maximum fine of Category V (Rp 500 million); and requires the offender to be willing to pay compensation or restitution. These provisions are consistent with Supreme Court Regulation No. 1 of 2024 on Guidelines for Adjudicating Criminal Cases Based on Restorative Justice (“PERMA 1/2024”), which promotes a broader restorative justice approach.

“Accordingly, judges are required to render decisions that set out the implementation of this mechanism in detail,” he added.