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Corruption is an extraordinary crime with systemic impacts on a nation’s political, economic, and social stability. Various countries adopt different penal approaches to combat corruption, including Indonesia and China. This study aims to analyze and compare the effectiveness of criminal penalties in addressing corruption in both countries. The research uses a normative-juridical and comparative approach by examining legislation, empirical data, and relevant case studies. In Indonesia, the implementation of criminal sanctions tends to be more moderate, with imprisonment and fines being the dominant forms of punishment. However, enforcement faces challenges such as weak institutional independence and political interference. In contrast, China enforces much harsher penalties, including life imprisonment and the death penalty, as part of its "zero tolerance" anti-corruption policy supported by centralized political power. The findings show that although China’s repressive approach appears more stringent, the success in curbing corruption is not solely determined by the severity of the punishment. Instead, it also depends on the consistency, transparency, and integrity of the legal enforcement system. This study recommends that Indonesia reform its criminal policy to be firmer while still upholding principles of human rights and justice.

This study is motivated by the ongoing debate regarding the application of the death penalty to perpetrators of corruption in Indonesia, particularly in relation to the protection of human rights as stipulated in Law Number 39 of 1999. The purpose of this research is to explain the extent to which the death penalty can be appropriately and proportionally applied to corruptors while considering human rights principles. This study employs a normative legal approach focused on the analysis of statutory regulations and relevant legal literature. The data is analyzed using a qualitative juridical method, emphasizing a normative review of applicable positive law. The findings reveal a discrepancy between the imposition of the death penalty for corruption crimes and the right to life guaranteed by Indonesia’s human rights legal instruments. The implication of this research highlights the need to reconsider the policy of capital punishment for corrupt practices to ensure alignment with the principles of justice, humanity, and respect for human rights within the national legal system.  

This study discusses the phenomenon of increasing corruption cases in Indonesia, which is caused by the lack of effective criminal penalties. Although Law No. 20/2001 concerning the Eradication of Corruption regulates the threat of the death penalty for perpetrators of corruption, in practice it has never been implemented. This study uses the approach of the law enforcement system theory and the theory of punishment, with normative legal methods and literature studies. The results show that the difficulty of implementing the death penalty in corruption cases in Indonesia is caused by the pros and cons and rejection from the community and law enforcement. This finding indicates the importance of reforming the death penalty policy for perpetrators of corruption to provide a deterrent effect and prevent similar cases in the future. Therefore, this study recommends improving the law enforcement system and more effective anti-corruption policies.