MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE AND THE PARADOX OF JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE: THE DOCTRINE OF JUDGE ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Abstract

The phenomenon of miscarriage of justice in the criminal justice system shows the failure of the legal system in achieving the main goal of law enforcement, namely justice and the protection of human rights. In the Indonesian context, this issue has become increasingly complex due to the strong doctrine of judicial immunity that protects the independence of judges, but at the same time has the potential to create paradoxes when serious errors occur in criminal decisions. This study aims to analyse the construction of the doctrine of judge accountability in the criminal justice system and reconstruct the model of judge accountability that is able to balance judicial independence and judicial accountability in cases of miscarriage of justice. This study uses normative legal research methods with statute approach and conceptual approach. Legal materials are obtained through literature studies that include laws and regulations, legal literature, and relevant scientific articles, then analysed in a qualitative prescriptive manner through legal interpretation and doctrinal reconstruction. The results of the study show that the doctrine of judicial immunity in the Indonesian legal system is still very dominant so that the mechanism of accountability of judges for errors in criminal decisions has not been adequately developed. This study proposes a balanced judicial responsibility framework that includes the principles of limited judicial immunity, gross judicial error liability, and institutional accountability as a model for reconstructing judge accountability. This model makes a theoretical contribution to the development of judicial accountability studies while offering a practical approach to strengthening public trust in the judiciary.