Imposition of Penalty below the Special Minimum in Narcotics Crime

Law number 35/2009 on Narcotics regulates the special minimum punishment. However, judges violate the minimum criminal limit, causing legal certainty and justice friction. This article examines legal certainty in consideration of judges in punishing the special minimum in narcotics crime cases. This research uses normative and empirical legal approaches through literature, document analysis, case studies, and resource person interviews. Based on the results of the research and discussion, it is concluded that the sentence below the special minimum in narcotics cases is based on the judge's legal consideration that the defendant is a drug abuser himself, the urine test results are negative, the amount of narcotics possessed is small, and the defendant is not proven to sell or become an intermediary in the sale and purchase of narcotics. In his consideration, the judge combines the laws relating to narcotics with the legal facts of the trial so that the judge's decision to impose a sentence below the special minimum has legal certainty.