Death penalty in Indonesian Criminal Code has been imposed only in grave circumstances like premeditated murder, corruption of extreme kind and drug trafficking. However, in recent times, the Criminal Code has shifted more towards human values, with views on rehabilitation and social integration of convicts. This study aimed to examine and analyze the philosophical issues that led to the decision to eliminate death penalty in the Indonesian National Criminal Code, January 2023. It also aimed at making a comparison of the Islamic criminal law with the criminal codes of other countries that still apply death penalty for perpetrators of corruption. For this purpose, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Iran were chosen where death penalty for perpetrators of corruption is still being imposed. This research used normative legal research with a historical approach and collected data form primary, secondary and tertiary legal sources. The findings of this study were analyzed with a statute approach utilizing the comparative methods. It was found that the laws in the sampled countries focus on three values namely individualization values, human values (rehabilitation) and social integration values, which prioritize human rights values. As a result, death penalty is eliminated in many countries. However, in Islamic law it still remains imposed considering the impact of state financial losses. The study concludes that regulating death penalty against perpetrators of corruption in the National Criminal Code is rather difficult due to its temporal nature and still in the transition stage.
