ANALISIS YURIDIS PERJANJIAN DAMAI SEBAGAI BENTUK PENYELESAIAN SENGKETA DALAM PERKARA KECELAKAAN LALU LINTAS DITINJAU DARI HUKUM PERDATA (Studi di Unit Laka Lantas Satlantas Polresta Malang Kota)

This research provides a juridical analysis of the use of settlement agreements as an instrument for resolving traffic accident disputes at the Traffic Accident Unit of the Malang City Resort Police, focusing on a civil law perspective. The main focus of this study is to evaluate how mediation is implemented by the police and the legal force of such settlement agreements in terminating the investigation process. Using a juridical-empirical research method with a qualitative approach, the results reveal that dispute resolution at the Malang City Resort Police is dominated by non-litigation channels, where police officers act as administrative facilitators and witnesses who record legal facts. Meanwhile, the substance regarding the form and amount of compensation is entirely left to the parties involved, based on the principle of freedom of contract as stipulated in Article 1338 of the Civil Code. The success rate of resolution through these settlement agreements is remarkably high, reaching approximately 80% of the total cases, which practically serves as a conditio sine qua non (absolute requirement) for investigators to issue an Investigation Termination Order (SP3) through restorative justice mechanisms. Juridically, a settlement agreement or dading that is legally executed and meets the requirements of Article 1320 of the Civil Code possesses binding legal force equivalent to law for the parties and is comparable to a final and binding court decision according to Article 1858 of the Civil Code. This phenomenon reflects a sociological preference in society that prioritizes swift and efficient restoration of losses (restitutio in integrum) over the pursuit of criminal sanctions through a lengthy and bureaucratic judicial process.