The Meaning and Legitimacy of Caning Sanctions in the Customary Law of Ngen Ca'o Kutei Jang: A Sociology of Law Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29240/negrei.v6i1.16436Keywords:
sociology of law, legal pluralism, customary sanction, living law, social legitimacyAbstract
This article examines the meaning and legitimacy of caning sanctions within the customary law system of Ngen Ca'o Kutei Jang in Rejang Lebong Regency from a sociology of law perspective. While debates surrounding physical punishment often focus on its conformity with national criminal law and human rights standards, this study shifts the analytical lens toward its social meaning and internal legitimacy within the indigenous community. Employing a normative-empirical legal approach, this research analyzes customary texts, scholarly literature, and documented practices of sanction implementation. The findings indicate that caning sanctions are not merely punitive measures but function as symbolic instruments of moral restoration, social equilibrium, and communal identity reinforcement. Their legitimacy is constructed through collective recognition, cultural continuity, and institutional authority of adat leaders. However, tensions emerge when internal legitimacy intersects with external normative frameworks such as human rights discourse. This study contributes to socio-legal scholarship by demonstrating how legal pluralism operates in practice and how living law sustains its authority through social acceptance rather than formal codification.
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